


Better Days

by ShinjiShazaki



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Smut, Trans Character, Wolf Children AU, except less angsty, let them be happy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:54:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 60,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26972491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShinjiShazaki/pseuds/ShinjiShazaki
Summary: All things considered, Edelgard Hresvelg lived an ordinary life.  She worked as an artist and avoided her vastly overextended family as much as possible, happy in her solitary life in the city of Enbarr.  Still, she wasn’t immune to loneliness, and so she went out from time to time to be around others.She couldn’t have imagined what she would get into when she met Byleth Eisner, a woman with a ridiculous coat studying to be a teacher of history.  History, and the folklore of Nabatea, its goddess, and the wolves she loved most dearly.(A Wolf Children inspired AU wherenobody dies.)
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 54
Kudos: 320





	1. Letting Light In

**Author's Note:**

> Edelgard would’ve kept to herself after her father’s death, had she not loved the sounds of other people and all the colors she saw when she heard them. She made a life for herself with her art: work, personal, popular, and even erotic. It was a good life.
> 
> Good, but a bit lonely. It was why she was so happy to meet Byleth Eisner one day, marveling at her patently ridiculous coat. It was nice to grow close to someone as quickly as they did, and she was happy.
> 
> When Byleth finally opened up to her completely, folklore stories included, she was even happier.
> 
> (If trans!Byleth bothers you, please leave now. Explicit content warning for the end of the chapter.)

If she hadn’t enjoyed watching the sun rise as much as she did, Edelgard Hresvelg would have lived a night owl’s life from the moment her father died in May. She had disappeared as best she could, just as he’d asked her to, and set herself up in a solitary life in the city of Enbarr, capitol of the province of Adrestia in Fódlan. That first night, alone with little more than her clothes and her laptop and just a few weeks shy of nineteen years old, Edelgard stared out her bedroom window. She had a view of the eastern sky, uninterrupted by buildings, and she could see a few stars despite the city lights trying to drown them out.

Sitting on her bed, Edelgard watched the sky throughout the night. Her thoughts dwelled on her father, her absurdly enormous inheritance, and the many half siblings and ex-wives that would try to find her despite the directions left in her father’s will to leave her be. Unlike every day in the hospital as Ionius failed to recover, she did not bother holding back her tears. She cried silently, tracking the arcs of her few stars until the black night began to recede. When the sun rose, she wiped away the tears on her face, took a deep breath, and got to work. By the end of the day, she had food, dishes, and cookware. By the end of the next day, she had a desk, a chair, and a desktop computer. By the end of the week, she had bought new clothes, supplies for the apartment, art supplies for herself, and finally arranged to drop out of one college and start over in the fall at another for a degree in art as she’d always wanted. 

That summer was the first time she could remember being truly by herself, her father’s house a hub for a never ending flow of visitors. She was able to finish full illustrations in a timely manner and post them online under the username theFlameEmperor without worrying about someone looking over her shoulder and discovering her identity. The act of going out to a local cafe to sketch while having tea and sweet buns, once an escape, was now a little piece of joy as she took in the sights and sounds of other people going about their days.

The sounds were what she craved most. Every voice she heard left ripples, clouds, bursts of color in her vision, fading as soon as they appeared. Some days, she went to the park near her apartment to listen to children playing. It always painted pictures of vivid gold and lively crimson in her eyes, and it always lifted her spirits if her night had been plagued by nightmares. She kept her distance and only looked at others for brief, polite moments, all too familiar with being gawked at.

Years passed. She earned a degree and quickly settled into freelance work alongside a steady source of income in a Patreon account. It had been slow going at first, even with the audience she had gained over a decade of posting from the shadows of her real life. When she dipped her toes into producing art for media she liked—TV shows, movies, games—all her numbers picked up. She put what little she remembered from her statistics and business classes to use, coming to understand trends and how to work them while still letting herself work on pieces that gave her the most pleasure. And when she finally gave in to the desire to draw something erotic and make it more polished than the sketches she’d hidden since she was sixteen, the numbers spiked and climbed steadily from then on.

Edelgard could only laugh.

At twenty-four, she considered her life good. She was self sufficient, her inheritance only checked on once a year. Her schedule kept her on track, even when art blocks tried to stop her. Nightmares were rare, and she’d heard nothing from any relative in over a year. She was happy.

Edelgard was happy, but she could not deny she had grown lonely. As she often did when the loneliness was heavy on her one chilly fall morning, she went to the park with the tiniest, most intensely tempered hope of speaking to someone else. Wearing her favorite red coat and carrying a bag with her wallet, phone, and art supplies, she found a bench bathed in what little sunlight there was that day and sat down to draw. Despite the chill, there were still a few others in the park, children too small for school out to play while their parents talked. One boy she recognized, and she waved back when he waved at her from the top of a slide.

It put a smile on her face, and she started a new sketch of some faceless character in a dynamic pose to match the boy’s energy. For an hour more she sketched and doodled, filling the page completely, but the sun vanishing behind dark gray clouds made her sigh and pack her bag. She pulled the hood of her coat closer to her neck as she went toward one side of the park, intent on going to her favorite cafe for tea, food, and more voices to listen to. The sound of rolling thunder behind her made her quicken her step and pull her bag closer to her side.

It happened because her phone rang. Waiting for a client to contact her as she had been, Edelgard tried to step out of the way on the walking path as she rummaged in her bag. As she did, she ran into someone else. She turned around quickly, an apology at the ready, and stopped to stare at the woman she had run into.

Everything about the woman was striking to Edelgard. She was easily half a foot taller, her dark blue hair a wild, artful mess that made Edelgard overly aware of her straight brown hair. As they looked at each other in surprise, Edelgard was able to see the color of her eyes clearly: a shade of blue that reminded her of the sky after a thunderstorm. She looked down, eyes at first drawn to the woman’s strong shoulders, arms, and unavoidably noticeable breasts.

Then she saw the woman’s coat and Edelgard _stared_.

Despite working on multiple fantasy and sci fi pieces, she’d never seen or dreamt up such a coat. It was a lovely dark gray, a velvety black making its hems and accents along the arms and shoulders. The strangeness began at the sleeves, abnormally long with the cuffs just above the woman’s knees. The woman’s arms emerging from holes in the sleeves’ elbows made it even stranger, and the long black train at the bottom of the coat pushed Edelgard over the edge.

“Can I look at your coat?” she asked.

For a few seconds, the woman looked at her blankly. A small smile appeared on her face, and then she laughed quietly. Her voice was soft, the bright sound of her laugh sending a cascade of beautiful silver sparks across Edelgard’s vision.

“I’ve never had someone ask to _look_ at it before,” the woman said, and her voice sent another burst of silver through Edelgard’s eyes. “Usually they just say it’s weird and walk away.”

“I do design work,” Edelgard said. “I’d love to look at it for ideas.”

The woman laughed again, and her smile was crooked enough to show her sharp eyeteeth.

“Sure,” she said. “It’s a lot better than it getting called weird again.”

“Thank you,” Edelgard said. “Why don’t we go inside somewhere? It looks like it’ll rain any minute now and I know a wonderful cafe near here. It’ll be my treat.”

“I like the sound of that,” the woman said, and she followed Edelgard out of the park and to a cafe. The barista recognized Edelgard as she and the woman reached the front of the line, nodding at them both.

“Bergamot tea and a raspberry scone?” he said to Edelgard.

“Yes, please.”

“And you, ma’am?” he said, turning to the woman.

“French vanilla coffee, sugar and two creams, plus the same kind of scone, please.”

“All right, give us just a minute,” he said, and he passed them their scones once Edelgard had paid. They went to a table near one window, Edelgard’s favorite, and sat down as the storm began.

“Just in time,” the woman said. She smiled slightly as she watched the rain pour, saying, “It’ll smell great later.”

“It will. Thank you again for agreeing to this.”

“Coffee and a snack with a pretty woman?” she said. “I think we both win.” She set her scone down to offer one hand, saying, “Byleth Eisner.”

“Edelgard Hresvelg,” Edelgard replied, shaking her hand. She stood back up when the barista called her name, retrieving their drinks. Byleth had taken off her coat by the time she returned, folding it neatly and setting it on the table so she could take her coffee. They sat down, Edelgard taking a sip of her tea before carefully picking the coat up.

“This is very well made,” she said, looking at the stitching closely. She ran her fingers over embroidery stitched on the coat’s back and along the velvety black on its shoulders. “Is this an emblem of some kind?”

“Kind of,” Byleth said. “My dad’s coat has that design on it, so my mom put it on my coat and my brother’s coat.”

“Your mother is a fantastic seamstress,” Edelgard said. She looked at the sleeves then, finding the holes stretched from the elbows up to the shoulders. “Why sew the sleeves this way, though?”

“There’s a few reasons for that,” Byleth replied, sitting back with her coffee in hand. “First was that my brother and I wrestled a ton as kids and always ruined our coat sleeves. Second was that him and I found an old cloak of our Nanna’s that had sleeves a little like this, and Mom thought it’d work to stop us from ruining our clothes. As for why the sleeves are _that long_ , that was Mom thinking we had one more growth spurt in us when she cut everything.”

“And you didn’t ask her to take the sleeves in?” Edelgard chuckled.

“She worked so hard on the hems that I _couldn’t_ make her rip it all apart. Besides, I can always roll them up if I wear the sleeves normally.”

“Fair enough,” Edelgard said with another chuckle. “Now why the black train? I’ve never seen a coat with one. Plenty of wedding dresses, but never a day-to-day coat.”

“To make my coat more feminine than Berith’s.”

“Your brother?”

“Yes, my little brother by a minute.”

“I don’t suppose your twin is your roommate?”

Byleth chuckled. “No, he’s in the mountains with Mom, Dad, Nanna, and Grand-Nan. Just me in Enbarr, and just by myself. I’ve been out here for…about seven years. What about you?”

“I have siblings,” Edelgard said, folding the coat. “Mostly half siblings from my father’s prior marriages and affairs. We’re not what you’d call close.” She smiled and held up one hand when Byleth’s expression faltered. “It’s fine. They leave me alone, for the most part. It’s nice hearing about a good sibling relationship like yours.”

“I know a few people who’d get snippy about us throwing each other in the river a lot when we were kids, though.”

Edelgard hid a laugh in her hand. “You weren’t kidding about wrestling.”

“I wasn’t,” said Byleth. “We came home covered in mud a lot. Dad turned the hose on us more than once.”

“Where did you grow up that you had a chance to play like that? You said mountains, but where?”

“Garreg Mach,” Byleth replied, pointing in one direction over her left shoulder. “It’s about two hundred miles north of here, still inside Adrestia, and I mean it when I say it’s in the mountains.”

Edelgard smiled as she took another drink of her tea. “Honestly, I think I’d like living in the mountains as long as I could get a decent internet connection for all my work. Being around nature all the time is much more appealing than the city.”

“What do you do for work?” Byleth asked. “You mentioned design work.”

“Concept art and character design for freelance work, and then more steady income through a Patreon for the art I post outside of the freelance work.” Smiling sheepishly, she admitted, “You’re likely to find me with a sketchbook on me even if it’s going to rain.”

“Do you actually have one on you?”

“I do.”

“I don’t suppose you’d show me?” Byleth asked. When Edelgard hesitated, she pouted very slightly as her shoulders slumped. She looked so much like a sad puppy that Edelgard’s resolve broke at once. Sighing, she took her sketchbook from her bag and offered it. As Byleth flipped through the book, she took a moment to finish her scone and check her phone. The call she’d missed was from an unknown number and had not left a message, and so she relaxed as she put her phone away.

“This is _amazing_ ,” Byleth said, eyes wide and bright. She turned the book around, pointing at a drawing of a large gray wolf. “Did you do this at a zoo or something? This is so accurate and beautiful.”

“No, just a reference photo. I don’t particularly like zoos—I prefer seeing animals thrive in their homes. Wolves especially look better in real forests, and I say that after studying hundreds of photos for reference.”

“That’s true,” Byleth said, and Edelgard was unsure if her smile was small from politeness or sadness. She had no chance to consider it further before Byleth asked, “You really like wolves?”

“I do. There’s a nice mix of intimidating and goofy that you can only get in wolves and dogs that I like. And I can’t tell you how many jobs I’ve managed to get with fantasy media types because I can draw a wolf as well as I do.”

“That’s a nice bonus,” Byleth chuckled. She flipped through more pages, stopping at one point. She turned the book around again, pointing at a two page spread of a woman in an elaborate set of armor and bearing a crown with two horns, as well as a breakdown of her armor and axe weapon. “Who’s this? I’m awful at watching new shows or movie if it’s something you worked on recently.”

“Oh,” Edelgard said quietly, her face beginning to burn. “No, that’s something of mine. It’s not in anything official…just a character I’ve worked on since I was a kid.”

“She’s really cool, even if it’s concept art,” Byleth said, grinning. “That axe next to her is _terrifying_. In the best way.”

Edelgard’s face burned hotter even as she smiled and said, “Thank you. Most people—well, they react the same way to her as they do to your coat.”

“That’s boring of them. This really is a great design. I’d follow her into battle any day.”

“All right, all right, that much praise isn’t necessary,” Edelgard said, feeling the blush reach her ears. “What about you? Were you in that park for a photo shoot?”

Byleth stared at her, immediately going red to her ears. Quietly, she said, “I’m sorry?”

“I assumed you were a model,” Edelgard said. “You’re lovely enough for it and I don’t know many people who would go out of their way to have a custom coat made that makes them look as elegant as you do. I honestly thought you’d just tell me to go away because models usually do.” When Byleth simply stared at her, all but glowing crimson with how intense her blush was, she quietly asked, “Are…you not?”

“I was just there for a break,” Byleth said, even more quietly. “I’m working on getting a teaching certification. The—my coat just makes me feel good.”

“Oh,” Edelgard said, little more than a croaking whisper as her blush returned. She cleared her throat and said, “Can I—ask what you want to teach?”

“History with a little folklore,” Byleth said, taking a quick drink of her coffee. “I’ve got my degree, I’m just working on the certification and trying to figure out what school to work for.”

“You’ve got quite a lot of schools to pick from in Enbarr,” Edelgard said. “I remember the long list of high schools I was able to pick from, public _and_ private.”

“There’s a lot of certification programs here, too, so coming to Enbarr made sense for me.”

“Is Garreg Mach really that small that you have to go two hundred miles to accomplish your dream?”

“Kind of,” Byleth chuckled. “We really only go up to high school. If you want a degree, you have to come off the mountain. What about you, though? Did you move here for school?”

“No, I was born and raised here for the most part,” Edelgard said. “Papa and I moved a couple of times when I was younger, mostly to try and stay in contact with my birth mother after she left. But we moved back here in time for high school and I’ve been here ever since. For better or worse, the university for the arts here offered the courses I wanted, so here I stayed.”

“I’m glad you did,” Byleth said with a smile. “If only because I got to meet you today.”

“I’m glad, too,” Edelgard said. “It’s not every day I get to sit down and have tea with a beautiful woman I’d like to draw and be relatively confident that she’ll agree to modeling for me.”

“Come on, stop!” Byleth said, blushing again. “I didn’t think you’d flirt this much when I agreed to come here!”

Edelgard kept herself from wincing, but let her smile weaken as she asked, “Did I read this wrong?”

“No, no, no!” Byleth said quickly, lifting both hands. “You read it right, I like it! I just wasn’t expecting most of the flirting to come from the cute little woman with me and not from _me_.”

“One,” Edelgard said, “I am not cute. Two, you’re more than welcome to flirt more.”

“But you _are_ cute,” Byleth said, leaning forward and grinning again. “Very pretty, but also very cute. You have two ways to get me to do what you want.”

“How’s that?”

“Give me a little pout _or_ a smoldering look and I’ll do whatever you say.”

“Quite a promise, Miss Eisner,” Edelgard chuckled. “I’d like to see you uphold it. Can we discuss the terms over dinner?”

“I’d love that, Edelgard,” Byleth said, and Edelgard’s heart did a neat little dance step inside her chest as they smiled at each other.

————

Having been secretive most of her life, Edelgard had a sense for when something was being kept from her. Over the next few weeks and the many dates they went on, Byleth was more upfront than most people had known. She told Edelgard things freely: that she was twenty-six, that her favorite color was red and her pickup truck was the same color, and that she’d not been in many long relationships. The last point had come up on their third date, a week after they’d met. As they sat together in the park, Edelgard staying close to absorb Byleth’s excessive warmth in the chill, Byleth had stared at her feet as she spoke. She tapped her thumbs together as she went quiet.

“I don’t like not telling my girlfriends this early on because it keeps biting me in the ass if I stay quiet,” she said. “Except it’s bitten me in the ass the last three times anyway.” She sighed, looked at Edelgard, and said, “I’m trans.”

Edelgard smiled gently. She tugged on Byleth’s sleeve to make her lean down, kissing her cheek as gently as she’d smiled. Taking Byleth’s hand, she said, “Their loss if they ended things with a woman like you, Byleth. You’re fine.”

Despite how she’d smiled then, relief quickly changing to happiness, Byleth still was hesitant and showed restraint at every step. Though their dates began to move to each other’s apartments for takeout and afternoon movie watching, it never went beyond brief touches, chaste kisses. Edelgard gladly would’ve settled in Byleth’s lap for warmth in her chilly apartment, but the way Byleth was stiff in her own home kept her at a polite distance. As more time passed, Byleth’s smiles grew smaller, cooler, and dread settled in Edelgard’s stomach. It made her all the more surprised when one Friday evening two months after they’d met, Byleth arrived at her apartment carrying grocery bags instead of their usual pizza.

“Can I cook you something?” Byleth asked, lifting one bag and smiling hopefully. “I can tell you’re kind of tired of pizza.”

“Careful,” Edelgard chuckled, and she held the door open to let Byleth inside. “If you’re a good cook on top of everything else, I might ask you to move in.”

Byleth blushed, taking the opportunity of taking her shoes off without crouching to look down. She followed Edelgard to the kitchen, setting the bags on one counter and starting to unpack them. Edelgard looked at everything and started to retrieve pots and utensils, but laughed when Byleth shooed her away.

“You don’t know where I have anything stored,” she protested.

“I’m good at tracking things down, now out of the kitchen.”

“Can I at least watch?”

Byleth sighed and pointed to one counter. “From the other side, please. Your kitchen’s nice, but it’s not made for two people.”

“I promise to stay on my side,” Edelgard said. She brought a chair over and sat down to watch Byleth cook. She set her chin in her hand, smiling as Byleth began to make a rich red sauce.

“I know spaghetti and garlic bread aren’t really fancy,” said Byleth, “but I have a really good sauce recipe.” She smiled sheepishly and added, “And I feel a little bad about never going out to a restaurant for one of our dates.”

“To tell you the truth,” Edelgard said, “I prefer this. We—Papa and I—never cooked that much when I was young. This feels…homey. It’s nice.” She hummed a laugh and said, “I’m also having fun imagining you in a cute apron, and I wouldn’t be able to do that at a restaurant.”

Byleth laughed aloud, the first time Edelgard had heard it in two weeks. “I don’t suppose you have one I could borrow?”

“No, but I can get one for next time. I’m a little surprised you didn’t bring one.”

“It was spur of the moment,” Byleth admitted. “I ran out of my apartment early when I got the idea—I forgot to grab the one I own.” She found a spoon to taste the sauce, nodded, and took another spoon from the drawer. She offered a spoonful of sauce to Edelgard, grinning when Edelgard let out a pleased hum at the taste. Edelgard smiled as Byleth took the spoon away, relief filling her at finally seeing her grin after a full ten days.

“Usually people complain about the amount of garlic,” Byleth said.

“Foolish of them. That’s very good, Byleth.”

“Thank you,” Byleth chuckled, putting the spoon in the sink. She put a pot of water on to boil, saying, “I envy you for this kitchen. Me and Mom really bonded over cooking, but my apartment’s kitchen doesn’t let me cook a lot.”

“You’re free to use it more,” Edelgard said. “I wouldn’t mind more cooked meals for our dates.” She gestured to the refrigerator. “If you leave me a list of ingredients, I can buy them before you come over again.”

“Really?”

“It’s easier for me to shop before our dates. Besides, it’ll give you a little more time to study if you don’t have to worry about shopping.”

Byleth smiled and moved to lean over the counter. Edelgard smiled in turn and leaned forward to kiss her, lingering as long as Byleth did because it had been so long since the last kiss she had received from Byleth that wasn’t strained.

“Thank you,” Byleth murmured. “I’m glad I ran with this idea.”

“Me too. But remember to bring your apron next time. I assume it’s cute and—”

“You want to try it on and be even cuter?” Byleth asked, a crooked grin on her face.

“One,” Edelgard said, “I’m not cute.”

“That’s such a lie,” Byleth laughed, adding spaghetti to the boiling water. “You’re _incredibly_ cute.”

“I’m _not_. And two, I was going to say _you’d_ be cute in your apron.”

“Thank you,” Byleth laughed. “It’s always a wonderful compliment when a cute girl calls _you_ cute.”

“For heaven’s sake,” Edelgard sighed.

“Tell me to stop and I will,” Byleth said, winking.

It was a glimpse of her that Edelgard had only caught a few times before, a woman fully happy and open instead of hiding herself away. She took a deep breath and held it a moment to steel herself for what she had to do.

“You may continue if I can have another kiss.” She caught Byleth’s shirt when she kissed her, keeping her close. Quiet, soft, she said, “Can I ask something?”

“Sure.”

“Are you comfortable with me flirting the way that I do?”

Byleth gave her a curious look, head slightly tilted. She said, “Of course I am. I’d say so if I wasn’t.”

“Then you know I want to go to bed with you, don’t you?”

Byleth went still, slowly going red. She cleared her throat and looked down. She mumbled, “I know.”

“Is that not what you want, Byleth? I don’t want to push you, but…every time I try to move a little closer, you move back. If—if I’ve offended you, I’m sorry, I just—”

“That’s not it.” She touched Edelgard’s hand to make her let go of her shirt, returning to the stove to stir the spaghetti. She turned on the oven, finding a baking sheet and arranging a loaf of garlic bread on it. Edelgard watched her, chest tightening as she saw resolve and resignation build on her face. She sat up straight when Byleth finally turned to face her again after putting the bread in the oven.

“Okay,” Byleth said, and she took a deep breath. “To be honest…I’ve never told anyone this. But—I really like you, Edelgard. I’m sorry if I made you feel like I didn’t, but I didn’t know how to explain this. But I can’t get closer to you like I want if I don’t tell you the truth.”

“I’m listening, Byleth,” Edelgard said gently.

She nodded, but went quiet for a moment to think. Then, she said, “Remember what I said about what I want to teach?”

“History with a bit of folklore.”

“Right. So…have you heard the folktales about Nabatea?”

“The ones you hear as a kid, yes. About how Nabatea was the original name of Fódlan and the home of the goddess, and how the goddess blessed some creatures other than humans.”

“Right,” Byleth said again. “The ones she loved most other than humans were wolves. One of the oldest stories out there says she blessed wolves because their howling was like singing to her, and that’s why the Nabatean breed of wolf has such a beautiful howl.”

“Where are you going with this?”

“I,” Byleth said, and she sighed as she trailed off. She checked on their food before going back to Edelgard. She took Edelgard’s hands and brought them to her head as she leaned down. With her hands on Byleth’s head, Edelgard could no longer see her expression. Her tense shoulders were telling, and Edelgard stroked her hair as gently as she could.

“You know Nabatean wolves are a real breed of wolf, right?” Byleth asked.

“I do,” Edelgard said. “But they’re not commonly seen for some reason. I don’t know if I even have a reference photo saved of one.”

“Well,” Byleth said, “there _is_ a reason for it. But—it’s not something most people would believe.”

Edelgard felt something brush against her palms, a flick of movement. She lifted her hands on instinct—and she stared as her jaw dropped.

Atop Byleth’s head, standing tall through her hair, were a pair of fluffy blue-gray and white ears. There was no mistaking their shape with how many other similar ears Edelgard had drawn over the years. They were the ears of a wolf.

“We hide,” Byleth said, ears starting to droop as anxiety drew her shoulders higher. She fidgeted as she straightened up. “I’m glad I wore a skirt today.”

Edelgard got out of her chair and hurried into the kitchen. She saw how Byleth’s skirt had risen in the back, fluttering as something moved under it.

“Is that a tail?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Byleth said. “I can limit the shift to this instead of going more wolf-woman or…full wolf.” Her face went red, eyes growing miserable, as she said, “I tend to—when I get really excited, my ears and tail come out. I—I wag. A lot. Like an idiot. Usually I’m calmer, but—you make me _happy_. You make me really happy and then I have to _not_ be so I don’t out myself, so I go weird and quiet. You’ve never offended me, I always _wanted_ , but…what if this happened?”

She fidgeted, putting her hands on her head to push on her ears. “Sorry, I know this is probably freaking you out. I’m trying to—put ‘em away.” She looked toward the door. “Look, I’ll—I can go, I’d just really appreciate it if you didn’t out me. Or my family. Please don’t out them, I just couldn’t stand lying by omission anymore and—”

“ _Byleth_.”

She froze. She flinched when Edelgard touched her elbows.

“Please look at me.”

Byleth did. Edelgard was smiling, remarkably sweet.

“I thought you were planning to break up with me because I’d done something wrong.” She laughed quietly and said, “This is honestly such a relief that I’m barely surprised.”

“You’re—really?”

“Really.” She pulled Byleth’s arms down, exposing her ears. “But…I admit it’s still _a little_ surprising. You’re really a Nabatean wolf?”

“Y-yeah. It’s different from a regular wolf. All my family are Nabatean wolves—we all can shift and we all have human lives.” She leaned down when Edelgard tugged on her hands, tail perking up under her skirt when Edelgard began to rub her ears with both hands. Looking up past Edelgard’s hands, she said, “You’re really okay with this?”

“I can’t change who you are, Byleth, and I wouldn’t try to. I’m already getting used to it.” She smiled and kissed Byleth’s head. “Just like I’ve gotten used to you being so tall.”

Byleth’s eyes were wide when she straightened up. Under her skirt, her tail began to wag as she smiled. She took a shaky breath and wrapped her arms around Edelgard.

“I was so scared this would wreck everything,” she whispered. “But I want us to work. I want—it’s so nice to _feel_ around you and not be some shell like I have to be in classes.”

“I want us to work, too,” Edelgard murmured. She put her arms around Byleth and held her tight. “I feel so close to you already. More than anyone I’ve been with before. I want you happy—I want to know this side of you.”

“Even the wolf parts?”

“Of course. Honestly, I’m tempted to ask you to take your skirt off to study how your tail is connected to you.”

“Is that your sneaky plan to see my ass?”

“I’d consider it a bonus.”

Byleth swallowed hard. She said, “I’d—I’d like that.” She put her hands low on Edelgard’s back. “I do want to go to bed with you. I was just so nervous about this and—”

The timer on the oven went off, forcing them apart as Byleth rushed to take the bread from the oven and strain the spaghetti. There was a blush on her face as she plated everything, and it lingered as they went to the dining table.

“Byleth,” Edelgard eventually said, “I didn’t…quite plan for us to have sex tonight. In terms of preparations.”

“Me neither,” Byleth said, laughing quietly. “Not even sure if I have condoms back at home.”

“But I’d like to see you. And touch you a little.”

“Same.” She cleared her throat. “Eat you out if that’s okay.”

Edelgard smiled and blushed. “Oh? Have you been having as many dirty daydreams as I have?”

“Or more.” She laughed again. “The thought of being _in_ you is really distracting. I, um, have to take a break from studying sometimes.”

“You’re not alone in that,” Edelgard said, putting her foot on Byleth’s. She smiled at how Byleth shivered, and she said, “Why don’t we finish and go to the bedroom?”

“I’d really like that.”

Edelgard smiled at her, and they finished their food relatively quickly. The dishes were put away in the dishwasher, a proper cleaning abandoned in favor of Edelgard taking Byleth by the hand and leading her to her bedroom, their phones in her other hand. She saw how Byleth’s attention was drawn to her desk and the low bookcases stuffed with reference books and filled sketchbooks and chuckled.

“You can look,” she said, patting Byleth’s hip before moving to set their phones on her nightstand. “I know I shouldn’t work in my bedroom, but I wasn’t able to plan it out when I was looking for an apartment.”

Byleth sat in her chair and looked at the closest bookcase. She reached for a stack of sketchbooks, but paused. She sniffed, sniffed again, and took the third sketchbook from the top. Edelgard, seeing the mark on the cover just before Byleth opened it, turned bright red. She went to Byleth, hand out for the sketchbook, but Byleth held it well out of her reach.

“You said I could look,” Byleth said, smirking.

“Not that one,” Edelgard said, still trying to grab the sketchbook. “Put it down.”

Byleth, smirk growing cocky, managed to flip past several pages with just her thumb. She did not look at the sketchbook at first, letting Edelgard’s expression tell her a story. Her blush was intense; she gripped Byleth’s sleeve tight.

“You are not allowed to judge me,” Edelgard muttered.

“I won’t.” She considered Edelgard’s position before turning the chair slightly and pulling her down into her lap. Though Edelgard stammered a protest, Byleth simply arranged her comfortably in her lap and held the sketchbook open before them both. She finally saw the picture that had made Edelgard blush so, and she hummed and smiled.

“I like this,” she murmured in Edelgard’s ear. “It kinda…wait. Is that us?”

Edelgard said nothing. She stared at the drawing, a picture of two women. The smaller woman was held up against a wall, her dark-haired partner between her legs. Lines suggested movement, and there was no denying that the taller woman was not thrusting a toy into her partner.

“Maybe,” Edelgard admitted.

“Do you draw us like this a lot? Or just draw art like this? It smells like you do.”

“It— _how_?”

“Not like you got your hand wet and smeared it on the paper. But there’s a unique scent that comes off someone who’s aroused and it tends to stick on things.” She set the sketchbook on the desk and pulled Edelgard closer. There was no space left between them; Edelgard could feel Byleth starting to grow hard under her. She kept still to focus on it, and on the sound of Byleth’s voice.

“You have that scent on you now,” Byleth murmured. She nuzzled against Edelgard’s neck, kissing it softly. Her hands wandered to the hem of Edelgard’s sweater. “Yours smells like…strawberries. Fresh grass.” She licked Edelgard’s neck. “A little of my favorite coffee.”

“I’d tell you to touch me more,” Edelgard said with a tiny laugh, “but my chair isn’t really designed for that.”

Byleth laughed. Still, she took another moment to nuzzle against Edelgard’s neck, losing herself in the scent on her. She put an arm under Edelgard and lifted her easily as she stood up. Too startled to do much else, Edelgard clung to her and let Byleth carry her to bed. She laughed against Byleth’s shoulder when she sat them down, arranging them so Edelgard was still in her lap, but facing her.

“This is really nice,” Byleth said. She set her nose in Edelgard’s soft brown hair and inhaled deeply. “You smell so good.”

“Thank you,” Edelgard chuckled. She undid the first two buttons on Byleth’s shirt to kiss her chest. “I’ll have to be careful with perfume choices now that I know your nose is sensitive.”

Byleth almost laughed. She went quiet as Edelgard unbuttoned her shirt completely. The touch of her fingers on her stomach made her twitch, mouth going dry. She took a deep breath when Edelgard wrapped her arms around her, tucked neatly under her shirt, and set her head against her chest. For a few moments, they sat there holding each other, smiling and quiet. Then, Edelgard giggled.

“Your breasts are somehow even _more_ impressive when your shirt’s open,” she said, and she set her face between them. Byleth went crimson and Edelgard hummed when the heat of her blush reached her. She eventually lifted her head to kiss Byleth’s breasts, lingering touches of her lips. She followed the curves of her bra, learning the way lace felt as she reached behind Byleth. The sound of Byleth inhaling shakily as she undid the clasps of her bra made a burst of warm crimson sparks appear in Edelgard’s eyes.

“Shirt off,” she said against Byleth’s collarbone. She smiled at how quickly Byleth obeyed, and she reached up to pull her down for a kiss. When Byleth lifted her head to breathe, Edelgard sighed and put her head against her chest.

“Kissing would be a bit easier if you were four inches shorter, “ she said.

“Maybe a little,” Byleth said. “But then we couldn’t recreate that drawing you made.”

“I told you not to tease me.”

“No,” Byleth chuckled, “you told me not to judge you. And I’m not doing either. I want to try that.”

“You do?”

“Yes, and if you’ve got any other things you’ve drawn that you want to try, you should show me.”

Edelgard looked up at her, mouth slightly open. She blushed slowly, pink turning to red before finally becoming crimson.

“What’s wrong?” Byleth asked.

“You’re not bothered by me drawing erotic art? Of us?”

“Of course not.” She laughed and kissed Edelgard’s cheek. “It’s kind of a relief. I wasn’t sure if you thought about sex as much as I do, so seeing that was nice.”

“I have…a bit of a high sex drive.” She gasped when Byleth turned them suddenly, and the blush spread to her ears when Byleth settled her on her back, propped up on pillows.

“That’s really a relief,” Byleth said, and she nudged Edelgard’s legs apart to kneel between them. “Because I do, too.”

Edelgard burst into giggles, hiding her face as her blush burned even hotter. There was a touch of wickedness in her smile when she looked at Byleth again and said, “I could tell by how hard you were under me.”

“About that,” said Byleth. She took her bra off and tossed it off the bed, taking care to flaunt her large, heavy breasts to Edelgard before taking off her sweater in kind. She took her bra off and tossed it and the sweater off the bed. Taking a deep breath, she moved closer until their hips were pressed together. Their clothes were light enough that Edelgard could feel Byleth’s cock against her. It was just as she’d thought about for weeks, Byleth’s weight steadying and the pressure of her cock just enough to spark her nerves again and again.

“I thought I’d calm down a little if I got you out of my lap,” Byleth said. “That didn’t happen.”

Edelgard smiled and put her hands on Byleth’s face. She held her still, taking in the sight of her darkened eyes, the flush in her cheeks. Never had she seen such a perfect image of desire to study before, and she was selfish in her study of Byleth’s lust for a few seconds longer before touching her lips.

“Do you have any plans for tomorrow?” she asked.

“Not really.”

“Why don’t you stay the night? We can go out in the morning for breakfast and come back with supplies for a day in.”

Byleth shivered, a tremor starting at the base of her spine and going in opposite directions. She took a massive breath, shook her head, and reached for Edelgard’s belt. As she undid it and unbuttoned her jeans, she kissed Edelgard’s neck and shoulder.

“I can _smell_ how wet you are after saying that,” she rumbled. She nipped Edelgard’s shoulder to make her gasp, and she said, “Yes, I want to stay the night and be with you tomorrow, but I have to taste you _right now_ or I’m going to lose it.”

Edelgard pulled her into another kiss before guiding her hands to her waist. She laughed at how much care Byleth showed in taking off her jeans and underwear, but her laughter came to a quick stop when Byleth brought her mouth between her legs. The first long pass of Byleth’s tongue over her sex made Edelgard bite her lip. The next made her tremble and melt into the pillows. She curled her toes when Byleth’s tongue brushed her clit, and she put a hand in Byleth’s hair.

“Byleth,” she murmured. She smiled at how Byleth kissed her, moaning softly when Byleth hummed against her clit. Her breath hitched when Byleth pressed her tongue into her, nose buried in the brown curls between her legs. Though every part of her wanted to close her eyes and focus only on the sensation of Byleth’s tongue and the sounds it made, she could not take her eyes off Byleth.

Such a look of desire, of longing, had never been aimed at her before. Though it made her blush grow painful, Edelgard kept her eyes open to watch Byleth. The touch of Byleth’s fingers to her wet, over-sensitive folds, made her squirm, a keening sound building in her throat. Byleth sat up slightly, glancing down at her hand to guide Edelgard’s gaze. Edelgard nodded, and she watched as Byleth pushed a finger into her.

“You have no idea,” Byleth murmured, pushing in deep and drawing out slow, “how much I want to be _in_ you.” She pushed in again, knuckle deep to make Edelgard bite her lip. “You’re so tight around just one finger. And I’m a lot bigger than my finger.” She exhaled slowly, the traces of a growl carried in it, and Edelgard’s eyes were drawn to her sharp teeth and blown-wide pupils. “I want you so fucking much, Edelgard.”

“Tomorrow,” Edelgard whispered. Fire licked her nerves, pushing her to say, “Byleth, _please_.”

“More?”

“Yes—more, please.”

“You’re so cute when you ask politely,” Byleth chuckled. She pushed another finger into Edelgard before she could protest the use of “cute,” bringing her mouth between her legs once more. It was only then that they looked away from each other, Byleth focusing on her tongue and fingers and how best to draw pleasure from Edelgard. Edelgard closed her eyes at last, holding onto Byleth’s hair to steady herself as she rocked her hips to meet Byleth’s touch.

The world was a blur of color: the sound of Byleth’s fingers brought a cascade of glittering gold across the background of soft red called up by her own slow, heavy breathing. The break in her breath when Byleth began to trace stars on her clit with her tongue changed the red, darkening it in the most beautiful way. The panting breaths Edelgard took as she was brought higher and higher with each hard thrust of Byleth’s fingers were silver streaks like comets, and her breaking cry as she came hard was a single firework that flared green before everything faded to black.

When she opened her eyes, Byleth was looked at her with a smile. Edelgard smiled back as she sat up gingerly, and she moved to curl up against Byleth’s side. Kissing her shoulder, she set a hand low on her stomach. She brought her hand lower still, fingers dipping past the waist of Byleth’s skirt and underwear. The temptation was almost too much to bear, Byleth’s cock standing tall enough to tent her skirt. Half dazed from her orgasm, Edelgard toyed with the idea of simply lifting Byleth’s skirt over her head, pulling her underwear away just enough, and taking Byleth’s cock into her mouth as she’d thought of so very often.

“I want you to tell me exactly what to do,” she murmured. “I want you to come as hard as I did.”

“I don’t think you’ll have to do much,” Byleth said, letting out a faint, fluttery laugh. “That was amazing to watch. And taste.”

“Still,” Edelgard purred. She kissed Byleth’s shoulder and palmed her through her skirt. “Why don’t you take off the rest of your clothes while I get towels and some tissues?”

“All right.” She meant to let Edelgard get off the bed, but Edelgard kissed her fiercely.

“And I want you to think about _what_ you want me to do most.” She smiled. “Short of letting you fuck me.”

Byleth shivered. “I will.”

Edelgard kissed her again, gentler than before, and got off the bed. She did not linger to watch Byleth undress, having to focus on walking with unsteady legs. She returned with two towels and a box of tissues, laughing because Byleth sat naked and cross legged on the bed with a remarkably eager look on her face.

“Dry your face before you start wagging, Byleth,” Edelgard said, handing her one of the towels. She spread the other towel over her lap after sitting next to Byleth, offering her one hand when she’d finished drying her face and hands. Byleth did not hesitate in taking her hand, lifting it, and kissing her palm.

“I meant for you to put my hand _on_ you, but the romanticism is appreciated.”

Byleth laughed despite the blush that blossomed on her face. She pulled Edelgard closer to kiss her shoulder, and she said, “I haven’t really explained _what_ to do to anyone.”

“I have a rough idea,” Edelgard said. “But I wanted to know…did you want me to go down on you?”

“Maybe,” Byleth whispered.

“Put your hand in my hair when you want it, okay?”

Byleth nodded. Edelgard brought their hands down, waiting until Byleth let go before setting her fingers gently on her cock. She stroked her lightly, thoughtfully, watching how her free hand gripped the sheets. The sound of Byleth’s breathing became her tempo: deeper breaths guided her fingers up to the head of her cock, and faster, fainter breaths brought her hand lower to grip the base of her cock and stroke up and down, up and down, slow and gentle. She reveled in how Byleth’s breath hitched when she took her cock in her hand and began to pump up and down with longer strokes.

“Is this all right?” she asked. She went still when Byleth put a hand over hers. For a moment, Byleth looked lost, head clearly in whirl. She looked at Edelgard with adoration and lust. She made Edelgard tighten her grip, stopped, and then brought her hand up to Edelgard’s hair. She tugged on it ever so slightly. Edelgard’s heart leapt into her mouth. She swallowed, moved back a bit, and leaned down.

Edelgard started where it seemed most obvious: she licked the head of Byleth’s cock. It earned her a whispered curse, giving her the daring she needed. She took the head of Byleth’s cock into her mouth completely, lavishing it with her tongue. With her head so close to Byleth, she noticed so many things. Byleth’s scent, not overwhelming and laced with floral body wash. The thick dark hair at the base of her cock. The wonderful definition in her legs, and how her muscles twitched when Edelgard gripped her thighs for balance as she brought her mouth lower.

It seemed there was even more to listen to as she went down on Byleth. There was the wet sound of her mouth on Byleth’s cock, the faintest _pops_ when she lifted her head to regain composure, that draped a background of luscious blue over her eyes. The rustle of her hair as Byleth gripped it, brushed it out of her face, were crackles of violet lightning. What changed the most was Byleth’s voice. Every time it was different: whining when Edelgard gave her a tentative little suck, whimpering when she took her mouth away, and panting when Edelgard began to pump the base of her cock as she sucked at her tip.

Edelgard wondered if she could ever recreate the colors she and Byleth painted in her vision. Every beautiful shade of blue came to her, vivid with every twitch of Byleth’s muscles. The shuffle of the sheets in Byleth’s hands cast bursting violet stars into the corners of her eyes, pinpoints of beauty that made heat rise between her legs.

When Byleth thrust up into her mouth, hips bucking, Edelgard’s resolve for caution wavered in the face of her swelling want. Not for the first or even the tenth time, she thought of Byleth pinning her to the bed, cock buried deep in her, caught fire in her mind. She wanted the pleasure of it, and to see Byleth’s face as she—she—Edelgard felt something leak onto her tongue and knew what was—

“Fuck— _Edelgard_!”

Byleth pulled her up and rushed to hide the end of her cock in tissues. Edelgard looked up in time to watch her face as she came. Her expression was tense as her muscles tightened, hips jerking, but relaxed into gorgeous bliss with each passing second. When she was spent, she leaned heavily against Edelgard with a contented groan.

“That was great,” Byleth said, nuzzling against her hair. “Thank you.”

“Thank you for letting me touch you,” Edelgard said, and she kissed her chest. “You were beautiful, Byleth.”

Byleth blushed and laughed quietly. “Let me clean up a little so we can cuddle.”

“All right, all right. I should wash my mouth a bit before I kiss you.” She let Byleth go, taking a moment to enjoy how her legs were unsteady as she walked. She slipped into the bathroom after her, rinsing out her mouth before going back to the bed. She draped the towels over the footboard, put the tissues on her desk, and rearranged the sheets to be able to pull them up. By the time Byleth returned, she had split the pillows so they both had some. She held her arms open, smiling, and both of them laughed as Byleth pulled her into her arms as she got into bed. She lay them down and tugged the sheets over them.

“I could get used to you staying the night when you’re so warm,” Edelgard said, cuddling against Byleth’s heat.

“I’d be glad to,” Byleth replied. She put a hand low on Edelgard’s back to hold her close. “Your bed’s nicer than mine.”

“You do have a nice couch, though.”

“That’s,” Byleth started, but she stopped. She smiled knowingly and moved her hand lower to cup Edelgard’s ass. “So you daydreamed about having sex on my couch, too?”

“Yes,” Edelgard admitted freely. “And I will continue to do so now that we’re where we are.” She pushed Byleth onto her back, sitting up over her and brushing her messy hair away from her face. “Thank you for telling me, Byleth. It would’ve broken my heart to lose you.”

“Thanks for not freaking out when I showed you my ears,” Byleth said quietly, reaching up to set a hand on her face. “I didn’t want to lose you, but I couldn’t keep hiding it.”

Edelgard smiled, leaned down, and kissed her sweetly before settling beside her. They both drifted off to sleep soon after, and when Edelgard woke in the morning, Byleth was still next to her. Groggy as she was, Edelgard’s smile was crooked and her hand unsteady as she stroked Byleth’s hair. To her surprise and amusement, Byleth’s wolf ears appeared on her head in response to the petting, and she saw movement in the sheets that spoke of her tail.

“Silly wolf,” she murmured. She rolled onto her side to rub Byleth’s ears, giggling because Byleth’s tail moved more. She heard Byleth sniff once, twice, and did not bother being surprised when Byleth scooted closer to bury her face between her breasts.

“Morning,” Byleth rumbled, muffled by her skin.

“Good morning.” She looked over her shoulder at the clock on her beside table. “We have a little longer before the grocery store near me opens.”

“Your store opens early.” She kissed Edelgard’s chest. “You smell nice.”

“Thank you,” Edelgard chuckled. “But we should take a shower before we go out.”

Byleth opened one eye to look at her. “You always smell nice, but I meant _nice_. Nice enough to eat again.”

“Careful,” Edelgard said, toying with her ears. “I’d love for this to go the way you’re thinking, but we really need to buy condoms before that.”

“I know,” Byleth said. She sighed and kissed Edelgard’s chest again. “We should buy stuff so I can make breakfast.”

“I’d like that.” She meant to kiss Byleth’s head, but they both jumped when one of their phones rang. Byleth hurried to sit up, grabbing her phone and answering the call.

“Hello?”she said. After a moment, she groaned and flopped onto her back, phone close to Edelgard so she could listen. “Berith, it’s not even _six_. Why are you calling?”

“ _To remind you I’m coming to Enbarr today._ ”

Byleth went still. “You’re what?”

“ _Knew you’d forget._ ” The man on the other side of the line laughed. “ _Lemme guess. Got distracted by your pretty lady and forgot?_ ”

“Yes,” Byleth sighed. “Thank you for the reminder. You’re such a weirdo to wake up so early.”

“ _You take after Mom and Nanna, I take after Dad and Grand-Nan. Hey, can I meet her? Edelgard, I mean. You didn’t let Dad meet her when he was down last month._ ”

Byleth looked to Edelgard, smiling when she nodded. She said, “Yeah, I think she’d like that. When will you get here?”

“ _Around eleven to check into my hotel, but we can meet up around noon-ish if that works._ ”

“Is noon okay?” Byleth asked aloud, an absence of thought clear in her face. She froze when Edelgard stared at her, and then went red as the man burst into laughter.

“Berith, dammit,” Byleth muttered.

“ _Just put me on speaker,_ ” he laughed.

Byleth did so, letting Edelgard take her phone as she sat up.

“ _Good morning, Miss Hresvelg,_ ” the man said. “ _This is Berith, Byleth’s brother._ ”

“Good morning,” Edelgard laughed. “Your sister is clearly not a morning person like you and I.”

“ _Not even a little. Byleth’s told us all about you, so is it all right if I meet you today? I’m down here to deliver some things for her from home._ ”

“Of course. I’d be glad to meet you.”

“ _We’ll get some lunch, then. Meet you at Byleth’s place?_ ”

“That’ll be perfect.”

“We’ll see you then, Berith,” Byleth said, “Love you, and drive safe.”

“ _Love you too, Byleth. See you soon._ ”

The call ended, and Edelgard laughed as she leaned against Byleth.

“Postponed until tonight, it seems,” she said.

“Guess so,” Byleth replied. “But we can at least go shopping for it.”

Edelgard kissed her cheek, smiling, and said, “That we can.”


	2. Closer, Closer Still

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Family was not a subject Edelgard was particularly eager to discuss with anyone, but Byleth made it easy. Whether it was about Byleth’s twin or Edelgard’s estranged half brother, visits and conversations weren’t nearly so difficult as they were with others.
> 
> But long nights together and moving steadily forward don’t stop Edelgard from having the same nightmares about family that she always does. Despite it, Byleth is there, is ready to stay.
> 
> And so Edelgard asks to meet her family properly in the winter at Garreg Mach.
> 
> (explicit content warning for mid chapter)

It was a treat seeing Byleth so happy so early in the morning. She remained terribly groggy until they left the apartment, but there was always a smile on her face as she fumbled through getting dressed. Her ears and tail kept appearing, and Edelgard kissed her before they went outside.

“Keep these hidden in the store, please,” she said, rubbing Byleth’s ears.

“Sorry,” Byleth said with a smile. “I’ll be better with some coffee in me.”

“The store’s cafe should be open by now,” Edelgard replied. She gave Byleth one hand to hold as they left the apartment. They both smiled on the short walk, Byleth humming a cheerful tune. Her mood climbed even higher after getting a cup of coffee, and Edelgard marveled at how bright her smile truly was with nothing left to hide. At Byleth’s behest, they bought supplies for pancakes and a long night in, going through self-checkout to avoid any curious looks.

“I’d hate going through normal lines for this,” Byleth muttered, setting a box of condoms in a bag. “I’m sure checkers would make a comment.”

“You’re right, since I get funny looks for this,” Edelgard said, putting a bottle of lube in the same bag. “I was very glad when they added self checkout here.”

“I am too,” Byleth chuckled, placing their food in another bag. She finished her coffee before they left, giving Edelgard her free hand. Edelgard held it dearly, and as they walked she caught Byleth looking at her again and again.

“What?” she eventually asked when they were almost at her door.

“Just thinking how cute you are in that jacket.”

Edelgard pushed on her side. “It’s just a plain red hoodie. And I’m not cute.”

“Berith’s going to call you cute, you know.”

“You will tell him not to.”

Byleth laughed, but looked at Edelgard closely when she let go of her hand to unlock the door. She took the other bag to let Edelgard close and lock the door behind them, carrying the bags to the kitchen.

“Edelgard,” she said as she retrieved a mixing bowl and a skillet, “can I ask why being called cute bothers you so much? I really do think you’re cute, but if it bothers you that much, I can stop.”

Edelgard sighed softly and went into the kitchen. She wrapped her arms around Byleth from behind, setting her brow against her back. Byleth put the skillet aside to set her hands on Edelgard’s arms, looking over her shoulder.

“You don’t have to stop,” Edelgard said. “I’m just not used to someone saying it and meaning it positively.”

“What d’you mean?”

“Most of my family—half siblings and aunts and uncles—only called me cute in a patronizing way. ‘What a cute girl you are, Ionius’ favorite,’ ‘oh, how cute of you to still be drawing at your age.’ My uncle Volkhard was the worst, especially when my father was in the hospital. He’d pretended to be nice all my life, but seeing Papa dying made him a different person. Who he really was.”

She sighed. “I think the only people who ever meant it were my father and my brother Dimitri.”

“Not half brother?”

“Still a half brother, same mother, but a different father,” Edelgard said. She let Byleth go to put a kettle on to boil for tea. “But he and I got along very well when we were kids—when my father tried to stay in contact with my birth mother. Dimitri asked if I would consider him my real brother when we were about ten, and I said yes if he would consider me his real sister.”

“I feel like there’s a ‘but’ coming,” Byleth said, putting a hand on Edelgard’s back.

“But,” Edelgard sighed, “I lost track of him after my father died. I tried to text him after the funeral and the will reading, but I got a message back saying the number was out of service. When I tried calling my mother and Dimitri’s father, they just hung up on me.”

“And you can’t find him on social media?”

“You’d think I _could_ , with a name like Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, but no. He was so sensitive when we were kids—I’d hate for him to be online with all the additional stress that brings.” She sighed again. “I hope he’s doing well. I can’t hope for much more now that we seem to have gone our separate ways.”

Byleth smiled and set her chin on Edelgard’s head as she wrapped her arms around her. She said, “I know you wouldn’t want any trite sayings to make you feel better, but I believe that you two will find each other just as sure as Berith and I can find each other in a crowded city. It just might take a bit.”

“Thank you,” Edelgard said, leaning against her. “I hope you’re right.” She straightened up when the kettle whistled, setting about brewing her tea as Byleth got to work on the pancakes. Though she kept her distance when Byleth shooed her and her mug out of the kitchen, she watched her closely out of curiosity.

“You act like cooking is magic,” Byleth laughed, pouring batter onto a hot griddle.

“It is to me. I’ve always been terrible at cooking, and brewing tea doesn’t count.”

“I can teach you,” said Byleth. “It’s honestly not too hard to cook.” She rubbed the back of her neck as she thought. “Maybe…Fridays we stay over, Saturdays I teach you a recipe?”

“That sounds very fair. Oh, wait.” She set her mug on the counter and went to the refrigerator, scribbling on a notepad. Byleth, having flipped the pancakes, went to look.

“‘Coffee maker’?” she read.

“So we don’t have to go to a cafe when you’re here. All I need at your place is tea, a way to boil water, and a cup I can warm up.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Byleth said, face flushing.

“Maybe. But I want to. We can make it part of our day after lunch with Berith.” She smiled when Byleth tilted her head back to kiss her.

“You’re way too sweet,” Byleth said, going back to the skillet.

“Only for you, honestly.” She went to the cabinets for plates when Byleth looked at her, and they soon sat down to eat. Again, Edelgard caught Byleth looking at her over and over as they ate, and eventually she asked, “What?”

“Just enjoying the sight of my pretty girlfriend eating breakfast,” Byleth said with a smile. “I still can’t believe I told you I’m a wolf.”

“You’d be telling me now if you hadn’t.” Pointing to Byleth’s head, she said, “Your ears are out again.” She laughed when Byleth blushed, reached up, and found it was true.

“You make me too happy,” Byleth said, and her grin was bright enough that Edelgard stood up just to kiss her.

————

“You know,” Edelgard said at quarter to noon as they waited in Byleth’s apartment, “you don’t have to be quite so nervous.”

Byleth looked at her, Edelgard looking back from the couch. She then looked at her own feet and considered how she’d been pacing. Heaving a sigh, she went to sit down next to Edelgard. She curled up on her side and set her head in Edelgard’s lap.

“Sorry,” she said. “I’ve just never gotten this far with anyone before. Introducing them to my family, I mean.”

“If your brother is anything like you, I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Edelgard said. She buried her fingers in Byleth’s hair to scratch behind where her wolf ears would be. “He sounded very nice on the phone.”

“He is. I know I shouldn’t be worried—you two will get along. He’s going to love your art, and you play the same kind of games.”

“For some reason, it’s more surprising to me that he plays video games when he lives in the mountain. Being a wolf seems more reasonable now.”

“Grand-Nan learned how to work a computer just so she could buy him things to spoil him. She loved watching him play—still does.” She laughed through her nose. “She spoiled me with books and had me read them to her. She really helped me figure out my voice when I started transitioning.”

“The more you tell me about your family, the more I want to meet them,” Edelgard chuckled. “Hopefully Berith gets here soon so you can relax.”

Byleth laughed a moment, but stopped short when she sniffed at a scent. She sat up, looking at the door, and jumped when the doorbell rang. Standing up, she said, “That’d be him.”

Edelgard stood and went with her. Byleth opened the door, and the man who stood outside was undoubtably her twin. Though his hair was finer, shorter, and slightly less messy, the gentle curves of his cheekbones and the color of his bright eyes matched Byleth exactly. His grin, too, was the same as Byleth’s, and he laughed when he said them.

“The _illustrious_ Miss Hresvelg,” he said. “Glad to meet you.” He lifted the large cardboard box in his arms and said, “I’d hug you both, but my arms are busy.”

“Come in, Berith,” Byleth said. She stared at the black instrument case on his back as he passed her, and she closed and locked the door quickly to follow him to the dining table.

“Monthly present time,” he said, setting the box down and taking off the case. Turning to Byleth, he said, “That one first.”

She pouted at him, but opened the box when he pouted back. The first item she retrieved was a large glass jar filled with dried meat; both her and Berith’s stomachs growled.

“I got a _great_ deer,” Berith said. “I had some from my own supply on the grove and it’s delicious.”

“I’ve been craving this,” said Byleth. Seeing Edelgard looking at her curiously, she said, “It’s venison jerky. Dad retired to be a butcher after being on mountain guard like Berith is now, and anything he turns into jerky is great.”

“Mountain guard?”

“Yep. Wolf job.”

Edelgard looked at Berith and saw he had gone wide-eyed and pale. She smiled, touched his arm gently, and said, “Byleth already told me. I won’t tell anyone.”

His jaw dropped. He looked at Byleth. When she smiled and let her ears and tail loose, he burst into laughter. His laugh was a perfect counterpoint to Byleth’s: sparkling dark gold to match the lower timbre of his voice.

“Bless you,” he said to Edelgard. “We’ve all been worried about her out here when it came to finding someone she could trust.” He guided her to the box, saying, “It’s even better for you to take this next one.”

Edelgard looked at him curiously, but reached into the box. She held her breath as she lifted a quilt from the box, a beautiful dark blue with emerald green edges. When she and Byleth unfolded it, she exhaled shakily at the sight of stitching and carefully cut fabric patches creating the image of a starry sky filled with comets and nebulae.

“Oh _wow_ ,” she whispered, eyes wide.

“Mom said it was new quilt time,” Berith said. “She was really hoping you two would work out so you both could use it.”

“But we’ve never met,” Edelgard protested. “She didn’t have to do this.”

“My mom makes quilts, Edelgard,” Byleth said, grinning. “And she always makes me one this time of year anyway.”

“She’ll be really happy when I tell her how shocked you were,” Berith said, “Best part of delivering quilts, honestly.”

“Tell her ‘thank you’,” Edelgard said. “This is—it’s _beautiful_. I’ve never seen a quilt like it.”

“I promise I will,” he chuckled. He pointed to the instrument case at last, looking to Byleth to say, “Now that.”

“You _didn’t_ , did you?” Byleth asked as she popped the case’s latches open. Her eyes widened at the sight of a guitar in the case, stained black along the sides with a slightly lighter stain below the sound hole and bridge. She turned to Berith, blushing badly, and said, “I told Dad _not_ to tell any of you.”

“You knew he would the second you told him you sold yours.” They both saw Edelgard looking at them, lost and curious, and Byleth sighed.

“I had a guitar like this, but I had to sell it,” she said. “I was—it was just before we met. I didn’t have enough for my HRT alongside everything else with how little substitute work I got that month.”

“Which you should’ve _told_ us, By-By,” Berith said gently, ruffling her hair. “Getting shorted on hours isn’t your fault. But Nanna helped pay for this one, so you are absolutely not allowed to sell it.”

“All right.”

“I mean it. She’ll be upset at you.”

Byleth laughed weakly. “All right, I really promise.” Her smile found some strength when Edelgard reached out and took her hand.

“Let’s get some food,” Berith said, ruffling Byleth’s hair again. “Always a better day when pizza gets involved.”

All of their stomachs growled in unison, sending them all into giggling fits. Berith recovered first and led them to his car, a blue pickup truck that was larger and more robust than Byleth’s. Edelgard found herself between them as Berith drove, and she held tight to Byleth’s hand the entire trip. The restaurant they went to was on the smaller side, but it was Byleth and Edelgard’s favorite for takeout. They were brought to a four-person table at the back of the restaurant, and Byleth and Berith sat opposite each other while Edelgard sat on Byleth’s left. As they settled in to wait for their food, Berith looked at Edelgard.

“So would you like to know what Byleth texted me in between your first coffee and the dinner that night?” he asked.

“Yes,” Edelgard said before Byleth could protest.

“Good, because Grand-Nan ordered me to tell you.”

“Why did you show Grand-Nan?” Byleth hissed.

“Because she demanded to know what was interrupting her game-watching time when I just stopped and smiled at my phone.” He took his phone from his pocket and went to his messages, scrolling back through them. “Here we go. ‘You’re not going to believe this. I met someone because of my coat! She’s an artist and she wanted to look at it. And she thought I was a model! I could’ve cried. She called me lovely, Bear-Bear. No one’s ever called me that—not the way she did.’”

“‘Bear-Bear’ is your nickname, I assume.”

“Yep. ‘She’s so, so pretty, so it was amazing for her to say that about me. Her name’s Edelgard. I wish I had her social media handle to show you her art. I think even Nanna would be impressed. It’s stupid…but I got a little hopeful when I saw a drawing of a wolf in her sketchbook and she said she likes wolves. I wonder if I could tell her one day.’” He scrolled slightly, chuckling as he read. “We went back and forth for a little while about what she should wear to dinner.”

“Which ended up being a very cute blouse and jeans combination,” Edelgard said. “You dress so well that I feel a little frumpy by proxy.”

Berith looked at her but a moment before saying, “You’re cute _and_ pretty enough that you’d make any outfit work. Like right now you’re very cute in that hoodie, but I can tell you’d be breathtaking in the right dress. Or suit, if you prefer.”

“Do I have to get used to _all_ of your family members complimenting me like this?” Edelgard asked, looking at Byleth with a raised brow and a blush on her face.

“Pretty much. Except…maybe not Nanna.” She looked at Berith and asked, “Did she say anything about Edelgard?”

“Not really.” He stopped short, Byleth turning with him. A waiter brought over their food, a very large pepperoni and sausage pizza and a basket of breadsticks, and Berith waited until the waiter was well out of earshot before continuing. “Nanna Rhea doesn’t really like humans. But she loves Byleth, so she’s just wrapping her head around it. Give her a little bit, please.”

“As long as she doesn’t bite me, it’s all right,” Edelgard said, taking a breadstick. “I have experience with difficult relatives.”

“I can see you going toe to toe with Nanna,” Berith laughed. “You’ve got that light in your eyes.”

“Thanks,” Edelgard chuckled. “I’ve had to cultivate that at my height.”

“Grand-Nan’s gonna _love_ you,” he said, laughing again. He nodded to them both, and they began to eat. With how often Edelgard had seen Byleth all but inhale as much food as she did, she was not at all surprised to see Berith eating as much as he did as quickly as he did. As she usually did, Edelgard pulled the slices she wanted to eat in front of her, and Byleth and Berith both nodded when they noticed. Unsurprisingly, they finished well ahead of Edelgard and leaned back in their chairs, looking content.

“Byleth,” Berith said, “Mom wanted me to ask how work is going. Since you’re right on the edge of getting your certification.”

“Not great,” Byleth admitted. “There really aren’t a lot of substitute hours available at the schools that let me sub in while my cert is in progress. I’ll get that fall-winter surge for colds and whatnot, but…I’m going to need tutoring work to do better than just making ends meet.”

She smiled wearily and said, “The timing’s not great for me to get my cert when the term’s already started.”

“So there’s a reason she wanted me to ask. The thing is, Professor Seteth announced his retirement a couple of weeks ago.”

Byleth’s jaw dropped. “He _did_?” She reeled when Berith nodded.

“I thought you didn’t go up to university in Garreg Mach,” Edelgard said.

“We don’t,” Byleth replied. “But Seteth is so scholarly that _everyone_ called him ‘Professor’ even though he just taught history classes for the high school section. His classes are the reason I went the route I did—he was passionate about the subject and he took care of kids like me. Wolf, and the trans part of things even if he didn’t totally get it.”

“That’s the thing,” Berith said. “When he leaves, that’s the only wolf teacher in the academy’s high school section gone. Mom really doesn’t want that gone when it helped both of us so much, and neither does Mayor Essar.”

“The mayor of Garreg Mach knows?” Edelgard asked.

“There’s a long-standing agreement between the wolves and the leaders of Garreg Mach,” Byleth said. “We work to guard the humans from threats on the mountain _and_ to keep them from poaching or over hunting, and we get guarded when we work among humans. Mom is this generation’s liaison, like Nanna and Grand-Nan were.”

“I’ll be next,” Berith said. “I’m working guard until Mom retires.”

Edelgard sat still a moment, blinking a few times. She said, “That makes _significantly_ more sense than just hiding and hoping for the best.”

“Hanneman’s looked out for us a lot,” Berith said. “Humans, wolves, and even the odd fox who’s wandered here from other mountains.”

“Foxes?”

“Brigid foxes are like Nabatean wolves. There’s a family who expatriated from Brigid when Byleth and I were kids to settle here and raise a little one after some family issues. Petra says hi, by the way, Byleth.”

“Tell her hi back, please,” Byleth said. She sighed. “Berith, I don’t want to just get handed a job.”

“I know. But Mom wanted to put the idea in your head, since you’ve got a few months to think about it. We’ve got until summer to fill the position.”

“Yeah, but,” Byleth started, and she trailed off as she looked at Edelgard.

The hesitance Edelgard hated so much had begun to creep back into Byleth’s eyes. She could see a question in her eyes, and she could see how Byleth was chewing on her tongue to keep herself from asking it aloud. Edelgard smiled, put her foot on Byleth’s, and pushed down gently.

“Berith,” she said, “I assume you have decent internet in Garreg Mach.”

“Oh yeah, pretty much everyone has high speed. Even Nanna and Grand-Nan have a good connection at their house. Why?”

“Because all _I_ need,” Edelgard said with a lingering look at Byleth, “is internet for work. As long as I have that, I can go anywhere.”

Byleth smiled slightly, a lovely light of hope in her eyes. She reached out under the table to set a hand on Edelgard’s knee.

“Speaking of your work,” Berith said, “ _please_ show me some. I’ve been dying to see it.”

Edelgard laughed as she retrieved her phone from her purse. Byleth grinned and sat back to watch as Berith took her phone and scrolled through the album she’d saved of her own pieces. He was lost to it, awestruck while Edelgard finished the last of her pizza. The way he struggled to give her phone back, flipping back and forth trying to determine his favorite, made her laugh aloud.

“Fine, fine, I’ll give you my username,” she said as they got back in his truck. “I know you’d try to get it from Byleth if I didn’t.”

“Thank you,” he sang, ruffling her hair. “I have to show Mom, she loves art like yours.”

“Does she?” Edelgard asked.

“Yeah, she loves people who can really do nature and animals.”

Edelgard thought. “Then…could I ask you two to do something when we get back to Byleth’s apartment?”

“Sure. What is it?”

“I want to take pictures of you two as wolves with the quilt. I’ll paint it for her.”

“Actual _paint_? Not digital?”

“I have oils and at least one large canvas at home. I’d like to thank her for thinking of me at all for the quilt and this is easiest for me.”

“I don’t mind some modeling. Byleth?”

“I’m okay with it,” Byleth said. “Just try not to be surprised by how big we are.”

“I promise not to scream,” Edelgard chuckled, and Berith laughed aloud. When they returned to Byleth’s apartment, he headed straight for her bedroom.

“We don’t get lucky like some movies or shows,” Byleth said, following after him. “It’ll wreck our clothes if we try to shift all the way in them.”

Edelgard nodded, double checked the lock, and took her phone from her purse while she waited. She looked up when a floorboard creaked, eyes widening. Two wolves, their blue-gray fur patterned with identical patches of white along their chests and forepaws, walked out of the bedroom to sit before her. They peered at her, silent and patient. Edelgard looked at them, her focus on their ears and the differences in the white patterns on them. After a moment, she put her hands on one wolf’s cheeks.

“Byleth?” she asked.

The wolf nodded, tail beginning to wag furiously. The other wolf, Berith, stood up, trotting in place and wagging his tail as well. He licked Edelgard’s hand until she pet him, moving on to lick Byleth’s ear. They both pranced a moment when Edelgard laughed at them, but quickly settled down when she picked up the quilt and spread it out on the floor.

“I want you two to lie down with your hands—paws—on the quilt, and your heads down between them,” she said.

They went to one side of the quilt and lay down, paws on the fabric and heads following suit. They looked up at Edelgard without moving.

“Just like that,” she said. “Hold still.” She took multiple pictures at several angles, laughing because the twins promptly rolled onto their backs when she put her phone in her pocket. “All right, all right.”

She sat down between them, putting her hands on their chests. Her fingers sank into their fur, and the moment she began to scratch, their tails began to wag. It was enough to make her giggle, and she laughed aloud when Byleth rolled over to lay her head in her lap.

————

It was late in the afternoon when Berith took his leave, hugging them both and lingering with both hugs. He gave Edelgard an extra squeeze before letting go, and his smile was truly gentle as they looked at each other.

“I’m really glad to meet you, Edelgard,” he said. “Thank you for a great afternoon.”

“You’re welcome,” she replied, smiling as he hugged Byleth.

“You’ve got a Mom visit next month,” he said. “Don’t worry if that painting’s not done—I won’t tell her what you’re doing so it’ll be a surprise no matter when you finish it.” He patted Byleth’s back. “At least think about the school job, okay?”

“I will, I promise.” She squeezed him and added, “Tell Nanna and Grand-Nan hi.”

“I will.” He ruffled her hair with both hands when they let go, and Byleth and Edelgard followed him to the door. Though he put his hand on the latch, he turned to show them a sharp grin.

“Be _careful_ , you two,” he said. “It’s still a bit early for me to be an uncle.”

“I’m chucking you in the river next time I visit,” Byleth grumbling, forcing him to open the door.

He laughed as he slipped outside. “Both of you should come visit. You know how beautiful it is in the winter.”

Byleth and Edelgard looked at each other. Smiling, Edelgard said, “We’ll talk about it.”

“We will,” said Byleth. “Drive safe on the way home, Bear-Bear.”

“I will. See you soon, By-By. And take care, Edelgard.”

She nodded, waving to him as he went out of sight. She inhaled and exhaled as Byleth closed the door, relaxing minutely when she set the lock.

“That was much easier than my usual family visit,” Edelgard said. “He’s a lovely man.”

“I’m lucky he’s my brother,” Byleth said, smiling. “I came out to him first, and he was with me when I told our parents.” She took a deep breath and sighed heavily, pushing her hair out of her face. “I thought you two would get along, but I’m _really_ relieved.”

“I am, too. The last thing I wanted was for this to go poorly.” She moved to wrap her arms around Byleth, relaxing when Byleth did the same to her.

“Sorry he was a smartass right at the end, though,” Byleth sighed.

“We unfortunately set ourselves up for that with what happened this morning.”

“Fair point.” She nuzzled against Edelgard’s hair. “I’m glad we got stuff for tonight so we don’t have to stop suddenly.”

“We do have two other things to do before that.”

“Hm?”

“We need to decided what to do for dinner, and we need to get your coffee maker.”

“Wha—no, you really don’t have to—”

“Byleth,” Edelgard said, tightening her grip. “I want to. I can afford it, and I would prefer to pay if it means you have money for your medicine.”

Byleth froze in her arms.

“I apologize,” Edelgard said. “I assumed your work is as consistent as mine. I didn’t think to ask if you needed help.”

“I _don’t_ ,” Byleth said quietly. “It was just that one month, and it was before we met.”

“Still.”

“Edelgard, I hate asking for money. I don’t want to just—I should be fine now.”

“I have faith that you will. And I hate when people ask me for money. But I’m offering because I don’t ever want to think about you going without something as important as your medicine. A coffee maker is hardly a dent to my savings.” She leaned back to look at Byleth, saying, “I care about you, Byleth. _A lot_. Please let me help you in these little ways.”

Byleth hesitated, but smiled helplessly. “As long as you let me pay for the coffee itself.”

Edelgard chuckled and pulled her down for a kiss. “A fair trade.”

They set out again before it grew too late in the afternoon, heading straight to a store specializing in house goods. Browsing was done slowly, Byleth comparing several models of coffee makers before picking one. The grocery store was their next destination, browsing once again taken at their leisure.

“I’m torn on what to have for dinner,” Edelgard said. “Home-cooked sounds good, but I don’t want to drain your energy.”

Byleth thought. “What about some Daphnel takeout? They have a lot of meat dishes that should perk us up for tonight.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever tried it.”

“A man I tutored got me to try it and I’m grateful. Want to give it a try tonight? I know of a restaurant near your place.”

“If you recommend it, I’m willing,” Edelgard replied, and she kissed Byleth’s hand.

They returned to Edelgard’s apartment, their coffee purchases spoils in the war of shopping, and Byleth set about ordering their food for delivery. Edelgard sat on the couch with a soft sigh to wait for her, and the moment Byleth was settled next to her she curled up against her side.

“Getting tired?” Byleth chuckled.

“A little,” Edelgard replied. “It’s been a long day and I get worn out by visitors. It’s been a while since I’ve even _had_ a visitor.”

“We can go slow later,” Byleth murmured, running her fingers through her hair. “I really want to see your face when you come tonight.”

Edelgard smiled, laying her head on Byleth’s shoulder. “I want to hear what our voices sound like together. You were like the night sky last night.”

“I thought you said I was silver.”

“Your laugh is. But the sounds you made yesterday were breathtaking. I almost want to record you so I can try and paint those colors.”

“That’s a little bit kinky, Edelgard.”

Edelgard held her breath. Let it go softly. “Byleth? Do you have opinions on pet names? On using them.”

“I call Berith ‘Bear-Bear.’”

“I mean for romantic partners.”

“I’ve never gotten that far, but I’d like to. Is there a name you want me to use?”

“El,” she said. “It’s what my family—or at least the two who really cared for me—called me privately. It would mean a lot if you called me that.”

Byleth thought, nodding as she did. After a few moments, she said, “El. I can do that. But I might slip up a couple of times.”

“That’s all right.” She pulled Byleth down for a kiss, staying close to whisper, “Thank you.”

Byleth smiled and kissed her in turn. “You’re welcome.” She kissed Edelgard, and then again. Though she began to push Edelgard back gently, they both jumped when someone knocked on the door. Byleth, giggling, hurried to the door after grabbing her wallet from her purse. She went to the dining table with two laden bags after closing and locking the door, and the luscious smell was enough to make Edelgard’s stomach growl.

“This set’s yours,” Byleth said, putting one long box and one square box at Edelgard’s spot. “Charbroiled chicken on skewers with a sweeter, milder sauce, and a mildly spiced potato hash.”

“Thank you for accommodating my inability to eat hot spice.” She sat down as Byleth unpacked the rest of the food for herself. They began to eat, Edelgard nudging Byleth’s nearest foot every so often. There was a measure of impatience in them both, finishing almost at the same time as each other. Time was taken to clean up and arrange the coffee maker on one counter, and they found themselves in each other’s arms soon enough.

“I really appreciate how warm you are,” Edelgard said. “Especially with winter about to start.”

“I’m spoiled with how much I like you cuddling me. You’re cute, El.”

Edelgard went still. She looked up at Byleth. “Say it again.”

“You’re cute, El.” She leaned down, murmuring, “You’re beautiful, El.”

Edelgard pulled her down the rest of the way to kiss her. It was easier than the night before, no relief over telling truths or worries about preparedness. They kissed each other slowly, properly learning the shapes of their lips. A minute or so passed there in the kitchen, but Edelgard caught Byleth fidgeting from being bent over for so long.

“Come on,” she chuckled, taking Byleth by the hand to lead her back to the bedroom. When Byleth scooped her up into her arms to carry her to bed, she burst into giggles.

“Is this going to be _your_ bit of kinkiness?” she asked as Byleth lay her down. “A wolf come to ravish a young lady?”

“I’d like that,” Byleth said, and the way her grin showed fangs sent a thrill up Edelgard’s spine. She pulled Byleth down for another kiss, sinking her hand into her hair to hold her close.

Again, it was easier than before. The touch of Byleth’s hands was becoming familiar, something sweet and soft that Edelgard leaned into whenever she could. She wanted to laugh, chest tight, at how tenderly Byleth took off her hoodie, how lightly she kissed her throat. It felt right to roll them over and undo the buttons on Byleth’s shirt, looking into Byleth’s eyes to see how they darkened with want.

“How on earth are you so pretty?” she asked, pushing Byleth’s hair away from her face.

Despite how she went red to her ears, Byleth managed to grin. She said, “Every time you call me ‘pretty’ I get the dumbest ego boost.”

“Good. I want you to be happy.” She kissed Byleth’s throat. “I want you. So much.”

Byleth hummed a laugh and sat up. Still humming, she arranged Edelgard in her lap to be able to grind up against her. She went slow as she grew hard, but it was still enough to make Edelgard shiver.

“Like this?” Byleth asked. “Or me on top?’

“You on top.” She rocked her hips to meet Byleth, both of them shivering. “But slow. I want to enjoy you.”

“You enjoying me,” Byleth said, sounding thoughtful. She undid Edelgard’s bra, took it off, and dropped it on the floor. As she cupped Edelgard’s breasts, thumbs stroking her nipples, she said, “I feel like a lot of this is _me_ enjoying _you_.”

“It’s both,” Edelgard said, and her breath hitched when Byleth gently pinched one of her nipples. She relaxed into her touch, fumbling through undoing Byleth’s bra as heat grew in her nerves. Byleth took her hands back long enough to remove her bra and throw it elsewhere, leaning forward to put Edelgard on the bed.

On her back with Byleth’s hands near hers, Edelgard could’ve cried. Byleth was radiant, her smile so bright it could make the sun envious. Though her eyes were still dark with want, the eagerness all through her made it clear she wanted the night to last. Her smile was adoring, and Edelgard reached up, wrapped her arms around her neck, and pulled her down to hide her face in her shoulder.

“El?” Byleth said. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Edelgard said quietly. “I’m just—far happier than I’ve been in a long while.” She laughed faintly and kissed Byleth’s shoulder. “It’s so _easy_ with you, Byleth.”

“I know what you mean,” Byleth murmured, playing with her hair. “I’m really glad you ran into me and _liked_ my coat.”

“So am I.” She kept them where they were for a few moments, breathing in Byleth’s scent, taking in how her weight felt. When she let go, she kissed her cheek and said, “I put everything on the nightstand.”

“No more foreplay?”

“No. I’ve been daydreaming about you for too long today.”

“Today?” Byleth laughed as she sat up. “When were you having dirty daydreams?”

“This morning while we were waiting.” She took off her jeans and panties as Byleth got off the bed. “And then when we were out shopping.” She smiled as Byleth took off her jeans and underwear as well, seeing how her cock stood erect. “But I have the luxury of my arousal not being so visible.”

“Is _that_ where your mind was when I caught you in a little daze this morning?” Byleth asked, her grin knowing.

“It was. I was probably imagining this.” Edelgard lay back against the pillows when Byleth gestured, face flushing as she watched Byleth roll a condom down over her cock and slick herself up with lube. Despite all her desire, she could not help but shiver when Byleth spread her legs and moved between them.

“I’ll go slow,” Byleth said. She brought her lube-wet hand between Edelgard’s legs and slipped one finger inside her. Edelgard took a breath and held it, meeting Byleth’s gaze as she fingered her so delicately. The addition of another finger made Edelgard clench, hands closing in the sheets. A tremor took her when Byleth spread her fingers slowly to stretch her.

“Byleth,” Edelgard said, “I don’t want you to tease me tonight.”

“Does that mean I can tease you other nights?” Byleth asked, taking her hand back and moving closer.

“If you _must_ ,” Edelgard huffed. “But not tonight.”

“I won’t, I promise.” She lined herself up, gripping the sheets to steady herself against impatience. “Okay?”

“Okay.”

Byleth nodded and began to push into Edelgard. It stole her breath from her, muscles at the base of her spine twitching with every inch she moved in. The sound of Edelgard whimpering, whining, swearing in whispers did nothing to help her composure. When she was, at long last, fully buried in Edelgard, every part of her wanted to move. Her legs were tense with the need for it, her hands shaking with how tightly she held the sheets. The look on Edelgard’s red face didn’t help either, eyes unfocused and lips shaking as her breath grew unsteady.

“El?” Byleth said. She nuzzled against Edelgard’s hair, saying, “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” Edelgard said, voice faint. “Getting used to it.” She blinked slowly a few times and laughed very quietly. “I went down on you yesterday, I _knew_ how big you are.” She bent her legs and put a hand on Byleth’s face. “But it’s a little different with you in me now.”

Byleth could not muster enough of a breath to laugh when she said, “It’s really different feeling how tight you are on my cock than on my fingers.”

Focus came back to Edelgard’s eyes. She smiled devilishly and clenched around Byleth, and her smile grew all the more wicked when Byleth let out a sharp, loud whine.

“If you’d like to ravish me now, my lovely wolf,” Edelgard said, “I’d be happy to be taken.”

Byleth laughed and settled on her elbows to kiss her. As Edelgard ran her hands up her back, she began to thrust into her. It was a slow rhythm, both of them finding how they fit. They luxuriated in the pleasure of it, a gentle fire stoked higher with every wave of motion from Byleth’s hips. Edelgard giggled at one point, brushing Byleth’s hair back as sweat rose on her brow.

“You look like you’re studying,” she said.

“Little bit,” Byleth said. “Smells and feels.” She rumbled low in her chest and began to move faster. “You feel so good, El.”

“You too,” Edelgard said, and it was all she could manage beyond panted whispers of Byleth’s name after that. The world was too bright in sound and sensation for her to bother with words. The sound of them together, of skin brushing against skin, of wetness, of moans and wordless pleas, made a storm of silver, crimson, and indigo play out in the edges of Edelgard’s vision, and it was beautifully overwhelming as she tried to find the best way to make Byleth gasp her name.

It caught her unaware, hovering at the edge as she had been for so long. She moved her hips to meet Byleth in a thrust and was left scrambling to pull Byleth down to hide a shaking, half-formed sound in her shoulder as she came. Byleth nearly lifted her head to speak, but the way Edelgard clenched around her caught her off guard as well. Breath caught in her throat, she thrust in once, twice, and pulled Edelgard as close as she could as she came.

They lay tangled together, slowly catching their breath. Byleth laughed after a time, pushing herself up to look at Edelgard’s face.

“I didn’t know you could come just from penetration,” she said, combing Edelgard’s hair back.

“I can’t always,” Edelgard said. “I didn’t—want to say anything in case I _couldn’t_ tonight.” She trembled when Byleth drew out, the tremble becoming a head-to-toe shake when she stretched. A tiny grumble left her when Byleth kissed her cheek and got out of bed to clean herself up and dispose of the condom. Once Byleth returned, thoroughly drained, she pulled her and the sheets close for cuddling.

“You smell great after you come,” Byleth mumbled, planting her face between Edelgard’s breasts.

“Thank you,” Edelgard said, and she was too sated with pleasure to say more before they went straight to sleep.

————

Winter fell on Enbarr hard, snow starting to fall heavily a mere two days after Berith’s visit. Edelgard was more than happy to have the starry quilt find a permanent home in her apartment, and she gladly welcomed Byleth the following Friday.

“I know I run hot,” Byleth grumbled, “but that’s not an excuse for my landlord to keep ignoring work orders about my heater not going above fifty damn degrees.”

Sitting in her lap to soak in her warmth, Edelgard asked, “When is your lease up?”

“February. I have to renew early if I don’t want my rent to go up too much.”

“Mine’s up in May. You could move in once yours is up, and then we find a bigger place if we want.”

Byleth smiled and kissed her sweetly. “I’d like that, El.”

Things began to find their way to Edelgard’s apartment after that: a book here after a dinner date, a travel mug there after Byleth had stopped by with scones one morning, and an inordinate amount of Byleth’s socks ending up in her laundry basket. It made Edelgard laugh when she discovered them, and the book she kept at her desk to keep track of it until Byleth visited and to have a reminder of her close at hand as she worked.

The oil painting was her focus whenever she had the time to spare. The calendar on her wall had a date circled in red marker: two weeks after Berith’s visit. A deadline, even self-imposed, always kept her on track, and she made rapid, steady progress day by day. Proud though she was, she did not post any in-progress shots online to keep Berith from accidentally revealing it. She did not hide it from Byleth when she came for the weekend, loving the look of awe on her face too much to keep the painting hidden.

“Mom’s gonna love this,” Byleth said. “I can’t want for her to see it once it’s finished.” Grinning, she asked, “Want to see what you’re in for when you make her happy?”

“Does she do something strange?”

“No, she just has a really great smile,” Byleth said, taking her phone from her pocket. “Here, Berith sent me a pic of her from when he told her how much you loved the quilt.”

Edelgard took her phone when she offered it, and she could not help but laugh when she saw the ecstatic smile on the green-haired woman in the photograph. Berith was in frame with her, grinning, and Edelgard could see where he and Byleth had gotten their features and wild hair from. She smiled at the picture, failing to notice how her shoulders slumped.

“Edelgard?” Byleth said. “Are you okay?”

“Hm?”

“You _smell_ sad. Are you okay?”

“Oh.” She gave Byleth her phone back and said, “I am. I apologize. I get a little wistful about mothers who look happy.” She pulled Byleth down for a kiss, murmuring, “I’ll be fine. But I do envy you for having a better mother.”

Byleth laughed for her, but she was even more tender than usual when they went to bed that night. Edelgard kept her close at every moment, holding one of Byleth’s hands until they both came. When they were thoroughly worn out, Byleth turned Edelgard around to hold her from behind. Edelgard fell asleep wanting to laugh at how well they fit together for spooning.

It should’ve been enough to stop the nightmares before they happened. Despite it, Edelgard woke panicking in Byleth’s arms a few hours later. She hid her face in her hands to try and steady her breathing before she was noticed, but Byleth gently shook her shoulder after her first wracking breath.

“El?” Byleth said, not a hint of grogginess in her voice. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing,” Edelgard said.

“The hell it’s not. You’re shaking and I smell tear salt. What’s wrong? Please tell me so I can _help_.”

She hesitated. She lowered her hands and looked at Byleth through the tears in her eyes. Quietly, Edelgard admitted, “I had a nightmare about my family leaving me. But—you and Berith and your mother left me too. I was asking all of you to stay—I just—I just wanted you to _stay_ , but—”

“ _El_ ,” Byleth murmured. She pulled Edelgard close, holding her steady as her shaking began to slow.

“Sorry,” Edelgard said. “This’ll pass.”

“Is it because I showed you that picture of my mom and Berith?”

“Yes and no.” She pressed her head against Byleth’s chest. “I’m glad your mother is a good woman, Byleth, and your brother is an incredibly sweet man. But it reminds me that I don’t have a mother or brother like them, and my mind went back to how all of my family left me in one way or another.”

Edelgard sighed, moved closer, and wrapped her arms around Byleth. “Don’t feel bad that this happened. Please. I just…don’t want to lose all of you like I lost them. Even now, I don’t.”

“I don’t want to lose you either,” Byleth murmured. “And I promise not to feel bad if you help me figure out how to make you feel better. Okay?”

She nodded, too focused on not letting her breath hitch to speak aloud. Byleth held her until the last of her shaking had stopped, brushing her hair back when she finally lifted her head.

“Sorry,” Edelgard said again, voice rough from tears and ruined sleep. “I was really hoping I wouldn’t have this kind of nightmare when we were in bed.”

“Kind of a silly hope when we want to sleep together all the time,” Byleth chuckled. “Think you can get back to sleep?”

“No. My heart’s pounding too much.”

“Do you usually get up after a nightmare?”

“To draw or read, yes.”

“What if we just lay here? Even if you don’t sleep.”

Edelgard sighed. “Maybe.”

“If you stay in bed until morning, I’ll play you a song. And we can get cinnamon rolls on the way to my place.”

“You’re terrible about twisting my arm,” Edelgard said, voice dry with sarcasm. She sighed as she put her head on Byleth’s shoulder. “I would like that. Thank you, Byleth.”

“You’re welcome,” she replied, holding Edelgard to her. She managed to go back to sleep in minutes, leaving Edelgard in the quiet of the night. Though the urge to get out of bed came to her, she let herself lay still in Byleth’s arms. When the morning arrived and Byleth woke again, Edelgard hadn’t slept another minute. She could only guess how terrible she looked by how Byleth looked at her in shock and pity.

“Would you mind if I had some of your coffee?” she asked.

“I was about to offer.” She got out of bed first and helped Edelgard up. As Edelgard struggled through getting dressed, Byleth made coffee for the both of them, and they left the apartment with a travel mug each. The coffee helped Edelgard stay upright in Byleth’s truck, and the extra large cinnamon rolls made sure she was able to get to the apartment. The chill that greeted them nearly knocked her over, and Byleth swore as they went inside.

“I swear, I’m showing my fangs the next time I talk to my landlord,” she muttered, going to the thermostat on one wall. As she worked to get the heater to turn on, Edelgard sat on the couch to finish eating and drinking. After a time, she curled up where she sat. Because the heater still did not turn on, she began to shiver from the chill and her own exhaustion.

“El, hang on,” Byleth said. She rushed away into her bedroom, and Edelgard stared after her because she could hear doors and drawers being opened and closed rapidly. When Byleth returned with a quilt in her arms, Edelgard laughed faintly. She reached to take the quilt, but Byleth set it down beside her and pulled something gray and black from within its folds.

“Put this on first,” Byleth said. “It should really keep you warm.”

Edelgard took it, needing a few tries to unfold it and turn it upright. At first, she only understood that it was a hoodie. Then, that it was a hoodie large enough to fit Byleth. Finally, she realized the hoodie was printed with the same design as Byleth’s coat, its hood, shoulders, and sleeve hems black, and the embroidery pattern on the back. When she discovered the hood’s pull string was pink, she giggled.

“I’m biased toward a good hoodie,” she said, pulling it on, “but I love this.” She laughed at how the hoodie fell past her hips and how the sleeves were far too large and too long for her. It began to warm her up immediately, and she wrapped her arms around herself to savor it.

“I want you to keep it,” Byleth said. “So you’ve got a reminder that I don’t want to leave you. Like I’m always with you when you wear it.” She set her hands on Edelgard’s face and kissed her brow. “Try to think of it that way? For me?”

“For you,” Edelgard murmured. “Thank you, Byleth.”

Byleth nodded, waiting for Edelgard to bundle up in the quilt before getting her guitar. She sat down next to Edelgard and began to play a soft tune. It was a lullaby, a popular song Edelgard knew from her childhood. She thought to lean back and close her eyes, but the music let her see a beautiful snowstorm tinged in green. Smiling, she watched Byleth play and relaxed as the hoodie warmed her up.

“What possessed you to make a screen-printed hoodie of your coat?” she asked.

“Mom had the idea,” Byleth said. “She made one of Dad’s coat for herself, and then made ones for me and Berith. He actually gets cold sometimes, so he wears his. I just overheat.”

Edelgard laughed quietly and scooted closer. “I’ve been meaning to ask…is your coat made that way to deal with you turning into a wolf?”

“A little bit, yeah,” Byleth said. “The holes in the sleeves specifically.” She looked at Edelgard when she felt her rest her head on her shoulder. “Doing okay?”

“Mm hm,” Edelgard hummed. “Thank you for playing for me.”

“Glad to, El,” Byleth murmured. She set the guitar aside to bring Edelgard into her lap and held her close. “You can take a nap on me.”

Edelgard huffed a laugh and set her head on Byleth’s shoulder once again. “I don’t have much luck when it comes to taking naps. But I’ll try if we can talk about one more thing.”

“What is it?”

“I’d like to visit Garreg Mach. And your family.”

A full five seconds passed before Byleth, shock in her voice, said, “ _Really_?”

“Yes. I’d like to get away from my work for a day or two and I honestly want to meet them after everything you’ve told me about them.” She took one of Byleth’s hands to kiss her fingers. “The nightmare doesn’t make me want to meet them less, it makes me want to meet them _more_. I want to know the people who raised you to be as sweet as you are. And if it means I get some time away from the city, that’s even better.”

When Byleth stood up suddenly, holding her and the quilt in her arms, she was too tired to react aside from blinking and raising her eyebrows. She looked at Byleth, bursting into giggles because her ears were out and a massive, hopeful smile was on her face.

“You really want to go visit?” Byleth asked.

“Yes,” Edelgard laughed. “Why is that a surprise?”

“City people don’t usually want to go to the mountains in winter unless it’s to ski,” Byleth said.

Edelgard smiled and kissed her. “I don’t particularly like living in the city, Byleth. I really do want to visit and see what it’s like up there.”

“When do you want to go?”

“Whenever your schedule and their schedules work. I can take a break any time this month.”

“What about next weekend?” We could drive up Friday, stay Saturday, and come back Sunday.”

Edelgard thought. “I’ll have the painting done by then. That works for me.”

“Do you mind if I called them to ask? My mom should be up by now.”

“You’ll have to put me down, but that’s fine.” She laughed against when Byleth set her gently on the couch before hurrying off to get her phone. Already starting a call as she sat down, Byleth kissed Edelgard’s head and grinned. They waited, Edelgard leaning against Byleth, until the call connected.

“ _I answered on video, honey, take me away from your head._ ”

Byleth jumped, bringing her phone in front of her and angling the camera away from Edelgard when she ducked away. She said, “Why’d you answer on video?”

Edelgard peeked at her phone screen as carefully as she could without coming into view. The image on screen was of a brightly colored room, shelves and drawers filled with fabric bolts, fabric swatches, threads, and batting. Given how the camera was standing on its own to show the shelves and the same green-haired woman from Berith’s picture, Edelgard could only guess it was a laptop camera.

“ _There’s my girl’s face!_ ” the woman laughed. “ _And you caught me doing math for a new quilt, so my laptop was open and easier than my phone. What’s got you calling on Saturday, Byleth? Need some help with girl troubles?_ ”

“No, not troubles,” Byleth said, smiling. She flicked her wolf ears and said, “We’re doing really well. She wants to come visit Garreg Mach.”

From where she sat, Edelgard was able to see how giddy joy appeared on the woman’s face, and how wolf ears appeared on her head at once. The woman leaned close to the camera, clapping her hands together.

“ _Byleth, that’s wonderful!_ ” she said. “ _Of course, of course, we’d love to have her! When were you thinking of coming?_ ”

“Would next weekend be okay? Come up Friday, leave Sunday?”

“ _That should work for everyone._ ” Then, smiling as innocently as an angel, she raised her voice slightly and said, “ _Does that work for you, Miss Edelgard? From wherever Byleth has you hidden over there?_ ”

Edelgard laughed, and she laughed even harder when Byleth blushed and her ears drooped.

“Mom, I wasn’t _hiding_ her, she just didn’t sleep last night and I didn’t want you teasing her,” Byleth said.

“ _Byleth, honey, you’re just giving me ammo._ ”

“ _Mom_!” Byleth hissed, and Edelgard could only pat her arm because she was too busy laughing. She managed to calm down as Byleth lowered her phone so her face would be in view, and she waved in greeting.

“Hello, Missus Eisner,” she said. “I’m glad to get to talk to you.”

“ _Please, dear, just ‘Sitri’ is fine,_ ” the woman replied. “ _And it’s wonderful to get to chat! But what’s this about not sleeping?_ ”

“Nightmares,” Edelgard said. “Byleth was very sweet about taking care of me and trying to get me to sleep again.”

“ _Good, because if **she’d** kept you up at night, this would be a different conversation._” Sitri smiled gently as she said, “ _We really would love to have you two visit. Anyone who makes our Byleth happy enough to let her ears loose is welcome._ ”

Edelgard wasn’t sure what she expected, seeing Sitri so happy to talk to her, to welcome her. “Welcome” was a foreign word, only becoming familiar because of Byleth. She wondered, for a moment, what it would feel like to get a hug from Sitri.

“ _You know,_ ” Sitri said, “ _Berith told us all about you when he got home, but he didn’t make it clear that you were **this** pretty. He certainly said you were cute, but my goodness what a catch Byleth has landed. Byleth, you better be complimenting her._”

Edelgard laughed, and she could barely wait for the next weekend to arrive so she could get that hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God am I eager to write Edelgard meeting the rest of Byleth's family. That'll be very fun. :)
> 
> [Catch me on twitter](https://twitter.com/shinjishazaki) for updates, thread fics, and a pinned tweet that'll help you get in on the "request" stories I've been posting lately!


	3. A Snowy Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It had been years since Edelgard had taken a trip out of the city, and even longer since she had gone somewhere as quiet as Garreg Mach. The warm welcome from Byleth’s family is something unfamiliar, but something long desired.
> 
> In the snow, she considers what she wants, what she could hope to ask for. With Byleth considering her own profession, Edelgard makes a decision that is much easier than she expected.
> 
> What makes things more complicated is a commission payment from a certain person as they begin to make plans.

As they drove up the highway, temperature steadily dropping as they went, Edelgard was grateful for several things. First was that she had gotten new boots with warm, thick lining, and second was that she’d found a heavy coat to wear. She was most grateful for Byleth’s truck being large enough to store their bags and the finished painting in the cab instead of in the bed out in the elements. She checked on the painting every so often as Byleth drove, making sure the sheet covering it stayed in place.

“Mom’s really going to love it,” Byleth said when off-ramp signs began to list Garreg Mach as a destination. “Don’t worry.”

“I’m mostly worried about the paint cracking in transport. I haven’t driven a large painting hundreds of miles before.”

“It’ll be fine,” Byleth said. “I’ll be extra careful when we get off the highway.” She offered Edelgard one hand, glancing at her as she asked, “Are you getting nervous?”

“A bit,” Edelgard replied, taking her hand. She laced their fingers together to absorb more of her warmth. “More excited, I think. I haven’t been away from Enbarr in years and I get to meet your family.”

“Mom said Nanna and Grand-Nan will come by tomorrow morning, so it’ll just be Mom and Dad today.”

“Will both of your parents be home when we get there?”

“Just my mom. She took the day off to meet us, but Dad’s in the shop until the afternoon. He’ll bring dinner home.” She squeezed Edelgard’s hand. “Don’t be surprised if he’s a little understated about things. It’s kind of funny when Mom is so obvious about how she feels, but Dad being quiet doesn’t mean he disapproves.”

“Does he get that little glimmer in his eyes when something catches his interest?”

“He does, yeah,” Byleth chuckled. “Is that how your dad was?”

“He was,” Edelgard said. She leaned back against her seat, toying with Byleth’s fingers as she looked out her window.

The landscape was lush, even blanketed in snow. The highway was surrounded by tall pine trees, all of them capped in white. If she leaned slightly, she could see the mountains in the distance. The quiet lull of the music from Byleth’s phone, albums’ worth of jazz, brought her to a time where she was small enough that her feet did not reach the floor in her father’s car. Waves of silver-gray played in the corners of her eyes, and she lifted Byleth’s hand to kiss her knuckles.

“Papa was always very guarded,” she said. “Even on the rare vacations we took, he never smiled much. But I could tell when something really had his attention by watching his eyes.”

“Where did you go for vacations?” Byleth asked. “We’ve gone to the sea on the Brigid side of Adrestia. Dad and Berith _love_ swimming.”

“Camping, believe it or not. Papa was very passionate about it, had all the best gear money could buy. He’d take me to parks on the border between Adrestia and Faerghus and we’d take a week or two at a time.” She smiled at the trees rushing past them. “I loved it. The two of us somewhere _quiet_ , where I had all the nature I could stand to draw.”

She laughed, squeezing Byleth’s hand. “I woke up one morning and found a doe and its baby outside our tent. They just stayed there and let me draw them. It was magical to a ten year old. I miss things like that now that I’m in Enbarr.”

“Well,” Byleth said with a laugh, “I don’t think any deer will show up outside _our_ house, but we should have some time for Berith to take us on a little walk.”

“I’d love that even if it’s snowing.”

“We’ll have lots of snow to look at, trust me,” Byleth said. “We always get plenty of snow in winter. Dad shoveled before he left for the shop, though, so we’ll be able to drive up without slipping.”

Edelgard looked at her as a thought came to mind. “Where are they putting us for the weekend?”

“My old room. It doubles as a guest room. The bed’s big enough for both of us and we’ll have our choice of quilts.” She glanced at Edelgard and smiled. “No one’s sleeping on the couch unless a nap’s involved.”

“I wasn’t too concerned, but I’m glad the bed fits two.”

Byleth laughed. “I have to admit I’m a little sad we don’t get to have sex this weekend, since my old bed is nice, but—”

“Byleth, you can’t convince me to have sex in your parents’ house,” Edelgard said, starting to giggle. “I don’t want to imagine how awkward that would be when Berith was so quick to tease us.”

“It’d be bad,” Byleth said, laughing with her. “Mom and Berith tease me all the time about you.”

“Not…not about our sex life, right?”

“No, just about how cute and pretty you are and how I better tell you how wonderful you are.” She brought Edelgard’s hand over to kiss her fingers. “So that’s me reminding you for the day.”

“Lovely wolf,” Edelgard murmured, bringing Byleth’s hand to lap to hold as they went on.

The exit for Garreg Mach was reached late in the morning, and the roads they took went steadily higher in elevation. Edelgard let Byleth’s hand go as the road narrowed and began to wind through the trees. She caught sight of icy creeks far below when the road’s shoulder dropped off sharply, wondering if they connected to the river Byleth had mentioned before.

“Here we go, here’s the town limits,” Byleth said as they drove past a sign. “About twenty more minutes, give or take a few lights.”

“All right,” Edelgard said, and she took a deep breath.

The town itself was another ten minutes away, and Edelgard could not hide her surprise at the number of shops, cars, pedestrians, and even cyclists that they drove by. It was nowhere near the busyness of Enbarr, but it was lively in a way that she hadn’t expected but had hoped for, deep down.

“The academy’s down that road,” Byleth said, pointing while they were stopped at a light. “Three streets up is our clinic—Seteth’s daughter Flayn is our main doctor. And two streets up is our turn. We’ll actually pass Dad’s shop after this light—it’s on your side.”

Edelgard turned to look when the light turned green, and she put a hand over her mouth to muffle her laughter when she saw the cartoonishly drawn piece of meat on a bone that served as a sign in a shop window.

“Dad drew that,” Byleth laughed. “Mom loves it.”

“Oh goddess,” Edelgard giggled. “I do too.”

They continued on, the road two lights later leading them back into the trees. Every so often, they passed driveways with extra-sturdy mailboxes, and they had reached the end of the road before Byleth slowed down to go up the last driveway.

“We’re closer to the mountains way out here,” Byleth said. “And Nanna and Grand-Nan’s house is closer to walk to than to drive up the old backroad they’re technically on.”

Edelgard nodded, biting the inside of her cheek when they rounded a curve and a large two storey house came into view. She took one more deep breath as Byleth parked near the front door, putting on her gloves after Byleth turned the truck off.

“I’ll get the bags if you want to carry the painting,” Byleth said. “Mom might try to hug me first thing.”

“All right.” They got out, taking the bags and the painting with them to the front door. Byleth unlocked the door and led the way inside.

“Mom?” she called out. “El and I are here!”

Edelgard set the painting down to take off her boots and gloves, and she looked about in the moment of quiet that followed. They had stepped into a relatively tidy entryway, shoes and boots lined up neatly out of the way and a closet left open to expose the many coats within. A small table stood to one side, a shallow bowl atop it holding loose change and two sets of keys. One set of keys was plain, but the other was attached to an acrylic charm of a kitten with a ball of yawn in its paws. She smiled at the charm before Byleth set her keys in the bowl, and they both turned at the sound of approaching footsteps.

A set of stairs was in view from the entryway, and Edelgard felt herself grow tense as she watched Sitri come down them. Once again, there was a brilliant smile on Sitri’s face as she approached, and she laughed when Byleth caught her in a hug. She squeezed Byleth hard, refusing to let go for a time.

“Welcome home, honey!” Sitri said when they finally let go. “How was the drive?”

“Not too bad. Remind me to thank Dad for shoveling.” She turned then, offering a hand to Edelgard. “So—Mom, this is Edelgard Hresvelg. El, my mom Sitri.”

Edelgard hesitated, unsure if a handshake was more appropriate. Sitri saw, smiled, and opened her arms in an offer. Hesitant, heart in her throat, Edelgard went to her for a hug. Sitri held her close, rubbing her back gently, and Edelgard smiled as the tension faded away.

“Welcome to Garreg Mach, dear!” Sitri said, smiling as she ruffled Edelgard’s hair. “I can’t tell you how excited we’ve been to have you two visit.”

“Thank you for having me,” Edelgard said. “It’s lovely up here.”

“Come in and set your things down. I have cider and cookies in the kitchen.” Though she began to turn away, she spotted the wrapped painting. “Did you bring something with you?”

“We did,” Edelgard said. “But it’s best viewed in more light than this.”

Sitri gave her a curious look. To Byleth, she said, “You take your bags to your room, we’ll go to the kitchen. We’ll wait for you before I open that.”

Byleth nodded, kissing Edelgard’s head before taking their bags up the stairs and out of sight. Edelgard picked the painting up and followed Sitri further inside. They passed through a living room with a large couch and a few overstuffed armchairs, and Edelgard could see two game consoles by the TV against one wall near a fireplace. The number of quilts draped over the back of the couch and the chairs made her smile, and the smell of warm, fresh chocolate chip cookies made her stomach growl.

The kitchen in the house was large, well stocked, and well equipped, and Edelgard was not at all surprised that Byleth and Sitri had bonded there. Sitri cleared off the kitchen’s island, gesturing to it as she arranged mugs and the plate of cookies on the counter. Edelgard set the painting on the island and took off the clips holding the sheet in place, standing back when she heard footsteps. Byleth arrived with a grin on her face and Sitri laughed as she went to the painting.

“I have an _idea_ of what this might be,” she said. “Berith was very excited about showing me your art—which is _beautiful_ , by the way.”

Edelgard smiled and stood by to wait as Sitri worked the sheet up and off the painting. The way Sitri’s jaw dropped made her smile grow even stronger, and she moved closer as Sitri put her hands over her mouth.

“Did you _paint_ this?” Sitri asked.

“I did,” Edelgard replied. “Berith said you enjoy art like mine and I wanted to thank you for the quilt, so I thought this would work well.”

“ _Oh_ ,” Sitri said faintly, staring at the painting. “Byleth, look at you and Berith! Your ear patterns are perfect! And the _quilt_!” She turned to Edelgard and went to gather her for another hug.

“Want me to get the tool bag to hang it?” Byleth asked.

“No, because I want Jeralt to see how lovely this is and to help pick out the best spot for it.” She let Edelgard go, but took her face in her hands, held her still, and kissed her brow. “Just so you know, Jeralt will see this, raise his eyebrows, and go off to fetch the tool bag.”

Edelgard nodded, tongue tied, and gladly took the mug of cider and cookie that Byleth deftly offered in that moment. She ate and drank as Sitri took in every detail on the painting. When she let her ears loose, a massive smile on her face, Edelgard looked at Byleth with tentative excitement in her own smile. Byleth grinned back and nuzzled Edelgard’s hair with her nose, sneaking in a kiss.

“Told you,” she whispered.

“You did,” Edelgard whispered back.

“Right,” Sitri said, clapping her hands lightly. “Edelgard, dear, go get comfy on the couch. Byleth, bring over our mugs and the cookies, I’ll carry this to where Jeralt will see.”

Byleth patted Edelgard’s back, letting her go on ahead. Edelgard returned to the living room with her cider, sitting on the couch with her legs drawn up to her chest for warmth. Soon after, Byleth arrived with two mugs and the plate of cookies, and she set them on the long coffee table in front of the couch. Though she moved to sit down, she saw how Edelgard was sitting and took one of the quilts to drape around her.

“I can cuddle on your lap, too,” Byleth said, sitting down next to her with a cookie in hand.

“Don’t tempt me. I can see that you’re hungry with how you’re looking at those cookies, so please eat.”

“Eat first, then cuddle,” Byleth said, smirking. “Will do.” She laughed when Edelgard pushed her shoulder, and they both watched Sitri carry the painting over to lean against the TV.

“I apologize about not having it framed,” Edelgard said. “I wanted to bring it with us and the one framing shop I know in Enbarr would’ve taken another two weeks.”

Sitri waved a hand as she sat in an armchair. “Mama will know someone for that, don’t worry.” She admired the painting for a few moments longer before taking a mug of cider and sitting back in her chair. “Well, if you wanted to make a good first impression, you succeeded! I can’t wait for the boys to come home and see.”

“Is Berith out on the mountain?” Byleth asked. “His keys are in the bowl.”

“He is, but I doubt he’ll be out much longer. Too much snow to worry about anyone hunting.”

“Is it still a major concern?” Edelgard asked. “Hunters or poachers?”

“It is,” Sitri said. “Most of Garreg Mach—the actual mountain—is considered a nature preserve, so human hunting is banned except for a few key places. Those places don’t have the best quarry, so people still come to poach.” She smiled, slightly bitter, and said, “Mama taught Berith and I very carefully after what happened to Papa.”

“Oh,” Edelgard said, so softly it could’ve been mistaken for a faint sigh. Still, Sitri heard, and she shook her head with gentleness returning to her smile.

“It’s all right,” she said. “If I bore ill will toward humans, I would’ve raised Byleth and Berith differently. As it stands, I’m much happier to have you here now than for Byleth to not have agreed to talk to you about her coat.”

“I still can’t believe you made her coat yourself,” Edelgard said.

Sitri laughed. “She and Berith ruined so many coats and jackets growing up that it was cheaper to make them. Between wrestling and racing around the mountain, I think we lost twenty coats apiece.”

Edelgard looked at Byleth. Byleth looked away, cheeks going pink.

“Tell me, did you get up to much mischief when you were younger?” Sitri asked.

“A little,” Edelgard said. “It was always over not speaking politely enough to a relative. The worst times were when I talked back to my mother.”

“Wait, you told off _your mom_?” Byleth asked.

“It was justified,” Edelgard protested. “She would always make Dimitri feel bad for showing me something he was trying to do when Papa and I visited. He’d make something in needlepoint or try to knit and she kept telling him it wasn’t for boys, and I just snapped every time and told her she was rude.”

Byleth and Sitri stared.

“He was _eight_ ,” Edelgard said. “She was wrong to tell him something like that when he obviously loved making things.”

“How old were _you_?” Byleth asked.

“Ten. That was when he asked to be my full brother instead of just my half brother.”

Sitri burst into laughter, setting her mug down to clap her hands. Still laughing, she said, “What a set of fangs on you, standing up for your brother like that! Byleth, I adore this girl you’ve found!”

“Me too,” Byleth said with a faint laugh. She gave Edelgard a hand to hold, rubbing her knuckles with her thumb.

“Now I’m very curious after seeing your work,” Sitri said. “Did you always plan on pursuing art like this? Byleth had her ‘ah ha’ moment just in high school.”

“I had mine around the same time,” Edelgard replied. “I’ve been making art since before grade school, but I didn’t look into how to make a living off of it until my first year in high school. I didn’t have someone who got me to think of it like Byleth did, though.”

“Both of you are admirable for making it work as well as you do,” Sitri said, her smile sweet. “Byleth, where are you with your cert?”

“I’m finishing it up when we get back to Enbarr,” Byleth said. “It’ll help with sub work next semester, but I doubt any school is going to hire for a permanent position mid year.” She held up her free hand when Sitri looked at her in concern. “I have a lot of tutoring lined up and I promised Berith _and_ El to say if I need help.”

“Good. None of us want you to sell your guitar again.” She took a drink of her cider and looked at Byleth over the mug. “Can I ask if you’ve given the position _here_ some thought?”

“I have. It’d be nice to work here and be close to everyone again.” She squeezed Edelgard’s hand gently. “Let me think about it a little more.”

“Of course, honey.” She turned at the sound of three loud barks, laughing as she stood up. “There he is. You two wait just a minute.”

Edelgard nodded, and when Sitri had gone out of sight she brought Byleth’s hand up to kiss her knuckles.

“We can talk more when we’re alone,” she murmured.

“Thank you,” Byleth said, turning their hands around to kiss Edelgard’s wrist. They both turned when Berith came trotting into the room as a wolf, tail held high and mouth open in a silly smile. He went to them and offered his head for pets. Edelgard laughed and scratched between his ears.

“Go get changed, sweetie,” Sitri said, patting his side as she went back to her chair. “You need cider in you after being out in the cold.”

He went off with a flick of his tail, returning soon after as a human wearing heavy jeans and his screen-printed hoodie. As he went for the kitchen, he said, “Hi Edelgard, hi By-By.”

“Everything good on the mountain?” Byleth called after him.

“It is,” he replied. “Pretty damn cold, though. You two got in at the right time.” As he came back with a mug of steaming cider, he said, “I stopped by Nanna and Grand-Nan’s on my way in. Nanna’s predicting more snow tonight.”

“What about Grand-Nan?” Byleth asked.

“She wasn’t sure, but she said her back was hurting.”

Byleth groaned, leaning back and putting her free hand over her face. “All the forecasts I checked said it _wouldn’t_ snow this weekend.”

“Look at it this way,” Sitri said. “Either it will snow and you’re stuck for an extra day or two, or it won’t snow and you’ll leave Sunday. But our kitchen is stocked more than well enough to feed everyone until the plows do their work. You don’t need to worry.”

“I wouldn’t mind an extra day or two out of the city,” Edelgard said. “It’s all right.”

Byleth lowered her hand and smiled slightly. “Thanks, El.”

“And speaking of thanks,” Berith said, moving to look at the painting, “thank _you_ for this, Edelgard. I know it’s for Mom, but I get to look at it, too.”

“Until your house is done, anyway,” Sitri chuckled.

“True,” he said as he sat in another chair. “Today makes me wish I’d gotten it started sooner. The framing that’s up looks so sad buried in the snow right now.”

“You’re building your own house?” Edelgard asked.

“Yep,” he replied. “Technically our family owns a large amount of land up here—Grand-Nan got it from being the first legally named liaison to the town’s leadership. Mom and Dad had this house built a long time ago, and now I’m building my own about halfway between them.”

“Having a house sounds _really_ nice after living in my place for a while,” Byleth said with a helpless laugh.

“I still hate your kitchen,” Sitri said lightly.

“El’s is pretty nice, just a little small. I really miss _your_ kitchen.”

“Well, it’s something to consider for the future,” Berith said. “I know my place is getting more entertainment space so I don’t bother anyone playing games at a weird hour.”

“With a spot just for Grand-Nan?” Byleth asked.

“Of course. It’d be weird not to.”

Edelgard laughed and asked, “Would you be willing to show us where you’re building tomorrow? I could use a walk and I’m interested to see what you’re doing.”

“Gladly,” he said with a smile. “I love taking people on walks around the mountain.”

“You should’ve seen him when he was little,” Sitri said. “He’d run up to anyone we came across on trails to see if they were lost because he wanted to lead them around.”

“What was Byleth up to?” Edelgard asked.

“Usually running interference with animals,” Berith said. “I can outsmart a bear and drive him off, but By-By got Nanna’s talent to just scare them off.”

“All I ever did was scare off snakes and badgers,” Byleth said when Edelgard looked at her curiously. “We never had any issues with bears when we were kids.”

“Fortunately,” said Sitri. “Because I can guarantee that _one_ of you would’ve been scared witless and the other would’ve tried to _fight_ the bear instead of trying to get your sibling to run.”

Byleth and Berith looked at each other. In unison, they admitted, “Yeah.”

“But you _did_ stare a bear down once during high school,” Berith said.

“He was looking at you the wrong way.”

Edelgard hid her face against Byleth’s shoulder to muffle her laughter. When she looked up, she found all three of them were looking toward the front door, and she jumped when the door closed heavily.

“Sitri?” a man called from the entryway. “Kids home?”

“Yes, love!” Sitri called back. “You’re home early!”

“It slowed down enough. We got our new girl here, too?”

“We do! Come say hello!”

Edelgard tensed her legs as she heard heavy footsteps, but relaxed as she exhaled slowly. The man who came into the living room was everything her father hadn’t been: tall, burly, and with roughly cut orange-brown hair and a scruffy beard. He spotted her as she tensed her legs and ducked slightly, and he smiled as his eyes lit up.

“Gimme one sec,” he said. “Have stuff for dinner I need to put down.”

He tromped away, Edelgard hearing the rustle of a paper bag as he went. She relaxed again when Byleth squeezed her hand, and further still when the man returned with a mug of cider. He moved to stand next to Sitri’s chair, gently stroking her hair as she smiled.

“Jeralt,” Sitri said, “this is Edelgard Hresvelg.”

“Good to meet you, kid,” Jeralt said, raising his mug slightly in greeting. “You’re not gonna be surprised if I tell you Byleth’s been texting _all_ of us about how much she likes you, right?”

“I suppose not surprised, but I’m glad to hear it,” Edelgard said, feeling her cheeks burn.

“Good,” he said with a nod. He turned when he noticed Berith pointing, and he raised his brows when he saw the painting. He went to examine it, crouching down to peer at the details. After a few moments, he stood up, set his mug on the table, and went off without a word. Because he returned with a tool bag in hand, Byleth and Sitri burst into laughter as Edelgard’s blush darkened.

“I’m thinkin’ over the fireplace,” Jeralt said. “Makes a nice thing to see when you come in. Sitri, what d’you think?”

“I was hoping you’d say that,” she replied. “Just think of what Mama and Grandma will say tomorrow.”

“That’ll be fun,” he chuckled. “Breakfast, right?”

“Right.”

He nodded and got to work hanging the painting, and Edelgard could not help but feel a bit of pride seeing it above the fireplace.

————

Compared to Enbarr, dawn in Garreg Mach was wonderfully quiet. Edelgard lay still, wrapped in Byleth’s arms and buried under two heavy quilts, and savored not hearing a dog barking or a car alarm wailing. The light that crept past the curtains was dim and soft, speaking of gray skies and snowfall. She wondered how it would sound in the spring or the summer, if birdsong could be heard.

She had taken time the night before to look around Byleth’s room. The low bookcases lining the walls were fit to burst and made perfect sense after seeing how many books Byleth kept piled up around her apartment. The many stuffed animals on the bookcases were a surprise, however, and she smiled as she looked at them.

“You don’t have any stuffed animals in Enbarr,” she had said, picking up a soft white cat with a fluffy tail. “Even I have a few old bears tucked away in my closet.”

“When I left home, I didn’t take any because I wanted to be ‘more of an adult,’” Byleth sighed. “So stupid of me, I would’ve liked some of these on bad days. But they’re still here now because I want to keep them somewhere safe until I have a place to really settle.” She touched the cat’s nose. “I miss having them.”

“You might need a place with a room just for them,” Edelgard laughed. “This is a wonderful collection.”

“To be honest, I want an office with a bookcase or a little chest just to hold them. And to have at least one on my desk while I grade papers.”

“Are there apartments with that kind of space here?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve never really looked at apartments here.” She smiled wearily. “I never imagined I could get a teaching job up here, so it never crossed my mind to look.”

“How are you feeling about the job here?” Edelgard asked, taking one of her hands.

Byleth took a short, shallow breath and held it. She looked down at their feet. Quietly, she said, “Anxious.”

“Why that?” she asked, setting the cat down to put a hand on Byleth’s cheek.

“Because it’s a lot to ask of you when we’ve only been together a few months,” Byleth said. “I really, _really_ care about you, El, but—moving away from the city and up into the mountains is a huge change.”

“I know,” Edelgard murmured. She pulled Byleth down for a kiss. “I don’t want you to be anxious about that job while we’re here, Byleth. Think about it, yes, but I want you to be happy to be home with your family and me. Please don’t be anxious.”

Byleth smiled again, and she pulled Edelgard close for a hug. She had gone to sleep holding Edelgard, and she slept deeply enough to not wake when Edelgard did. Edelgard smiled and amused herself playing with Byleth’s hair until her wolf ears appeared. The morning passed in comfort, even if her ears were a bit cold. As she thought to lift the hood on her hoodie and settle back to sleep, Edelgard heard something downstairs. She lifted her head slightly and strained her ears, but could only hear muffled voices. A pair of voices sounded awake and alert, but a third was even more indistinct.

Curiosity took her. Edelgard carefully slipped out of bed, glad to have worn heavy socks to sleep, and crept out into the hall. The doors Byleth had noted were Berith’s and Jeralt and Sitri’s were closed, but she could hear Jeralt downstairs. She did not recognize the two women speaking to him, and she hesitated with her hand on the doorknob. In the end, curiosity urged her downstairs and to the kitchen without cutting through the living room.

Jeralt was there as she expected, working on brewing coffee, but the tall woman with wild, greenish-gray hair was someone Edelgard did not know. She wore jeans and a truly hideous red holiday sweater, a knitted thing with rough blue wolf appliqués on the chest. Edelgard marveled at it, struggling not to laugh at the red hats on the wolves. When the woman turned to look at her, she went still.

“Hey kid,” Jeralt said. “By said you drink tea, so Sitri picked some up. Not sure how to brew it myself.”

“I can wait,” Edelgard said “I don’t want to wake anyone up with the kettle.”

The woman laughed. “You are too sweet, little one. Such sleepiness would not have been tolerated in my day.”

“You put everyone to shame with how much of an early riser you are, Sothis,” Jeralt chuckled.

“Dawn is just as lovely as a moon rising,” she said airily. When she grinned at Edelgard, it was warm enough to ignore how sharp her teeth were. “Come here, little one. It is early and I did not bother to bring glasses with our clothes.”

Edelgard went to her, freezing when Sothis took her face in her hands and made her look up. The wrinkles around Sothis’ dark green eyes were deep, but her eyes were clear and focused. She tapped Edelgard’s ears and nose with steady fingers, and she laughed as she ruffled her hair with both hands.

“Yes, very pretty,” she said. “Little wonder why Byleth is entranced.” She reached down to pat Edelgard’s backside with one hand and urged her back and out of the kitchen. “Out of the way now, let us start cooking. They will all be happy to wake up to the smell of cinnamon rolls and bacon.”

“Can I help with anything?”

“Nah, it’s okay,” Jeralt said, rolling up his sleeves. “You can go back to bed, or you can see what Rhea thinks of the painting. She went into the living room to wake up.”

“She will be polite,” Sothis said, nodding to send her along.

Edelgard glanced at Jeralt, who nodded as well. With little else to do, she went into the living room. A fire had been built in the fireplace, and the woman who stood in its warmth was almost as tall as Sothis. Her greenish-gray hair was not as wild and her sweater far more reserved, and Edelgard could tell that her focus was on the painting. Still, when she drew closer, the woman, Rhea, turned to look over her shoulder.

For a long while, Rhea simply looked at her. She was silent, her expression unreadable with how groggy she was, and Edelgard held still and held her ground. Eventually, she glanced at the painting before looking at Edelgard once more.

“Jeralt said you painted this for Sitri,” she said.

“I did,” Edelgard replied. “Byleth and Berith were kind enough to model for me.”

“You actually painted the little flips in their fur behind their ears.”

“I had to. It made me laugh when I noticed it in my reference photos.”

Rhea smiled slightly. “It made all of us laugh when we first noticed. It’s not as prominent with their summer coats, but our prince and princess of the mountain are…very fluffy in the winter.”

“I’m glad that seems to translate to Byleth being really warm. I’m not used to the cold yet.”

“You’ll have to deal with it for at least another day,” Rhea said. “We’re up and here at this unholy hour because it’s snowing quite heavily. We came as wolves carrying these clothes.”

“That’s all right,” said Edelgard. “I wanted more time up here anyway.”

Rhea looked at her with an equal amount of curiosity and suspicion. She asked, “Why is that?”

“Because I already like being out of the city,” Edelgard said, smiling. “Being snowed in just gives me more time to learn _how much_ I like it.”

The suspicion slowly drained away, leaving only curiosity as Rhea moved closer. Almost exactly as Sothis had done before, she took Edelgard’s face in her hands and made her look up. Edelgard met her gaze steadily, waiting until she let go before lowering her head.

“I will not make threatening comments as I have so often heard in human media,” Rhea said. “If you are as kind as my grandchildren have told me, then I will assume you know how much it will hurt this family if you break Byleth’s heart.”

“I do. It’s the last thing I want to do.”

Rhea looked at her very closely. At long last, she nodded, smiling faintly. She took one of the quilts from the couch and settled in an armchair with it spread over her lap.

“I am not partial to warm drinks or caffeine,” Rhea said with a yawn. “Would you indulge me in some conversation while they cook?”

“Of course,” Edelgard said, and she took another quilt to bundle up in as she sat on the couch. “May I ask you something?”

“You may, child.”

“Sitri mentioned you’d know someone who might be able to frame the painting. Are you an artist yourself?”

Rhea chuckled. “I dabbled in art. Mother supported me, but I found I lacked patience with myself. Improvement was slow, so I stopped at a certain point. But there is a lovely little studio in Garreg Mach that allows me to teach the basics I know to children. Helping them cultivate their skills and the joy they take in creating is lovely. The studio owner knows how to frame and will be happy to help.”

“That sounds much nicer than the art supply store in Enbarr,” Edelgard said. “Half the time they’re out of what I need and there’s no real space for classes.” She sighed and said, “People who host art events in their private studios overcharge _terribly_ on admission fees.”

“Would you offer such events?”

“It’s never made sense to rent extra space in Enbarr. I’ve done a few amateur classes for patrons online, but I don’t want to splurge on rental fees.”

“Are finances as tight for you as they are for Byleth?”

“No,” Edelgard said, quiet as she looked at the fire. “But I want to use my inheritance well. It’d be an insult to Papa if I wasted it.”

“I see,” Rhea said. “That is a wise choice to make.” She hummed quietly. “You are not what I was expecting, if I may say.”

“What do you mean?”

“Wolves and humans I meet who are your age are more impulsive. Less certain. It is a good balance for Byleth and where she is.”

“I had to get used to being an adult sooner than I thought I would,” Edelgard said, a touch of bitterness in her smile. She inhaled, exhaled, and let the bitterness go before saying, “I’m glad I can be what Byleth needs. She’s definitely what I need.”

Rhea looked at her with one brow raised. After a moment, she said, “You care deeply for her.”

Edelgard said nothing, the ever growing weight of a few words coming to rest on her tongue again. She admitted, “I do.”

“That is all I could ask for when it comes to her partners,” Rhea said. “I will grow used to the human aspect in time.”

“Thanks,” Edelgard said dryly, smiling when Rhea frowned at her. Rhea let out a faint “ _hmph_ ” before turning away and sniffing. The scent of bacon reached Edelgard then, rich and savory, and she struggled to hold down her laughter when she saw that wolf ears had appeared on Rhea’s alongside the pleased smile on her face.

It wasn’t long before Edelgard heard people coming down the stairs. Berith was first, bright-eyed and alert, and he went straight to Rhea for a hug. Byleth came next, hair a mess and feet shuffling, and she too went to Rhea for a hug before curling up next to Edelgard. Last was Sitri, and she shuffled around the living room to sleepily kiss each of them on the head, Edelgard included.

“How much was it snowing, Mama?” Sitri asked. “It smells terribly cold by the window.”

“Enough that our tracks are gone by now,” Rhea said. “We’re in for a few inches at least.”

Byleth sighed, but nodded before leaning against Edelgard. Her ears came out when Edelgard reached up to scratch the back of her neck, and she settled on her side with her head in Edelgard’s lap to let her tail loose from her sweatpants.

“Lazy pup,” Sitri laughed. “All this talk yesterday of taking Edelgard on a walk with Berith and the first thing you think to do is sleep in her lap!”

“I’ll wake up,” Byleth mumbled, but the wagging of her tail quickly began to slow.

“Coffee’s up!” Jeralt called from the kitchen. “And the first batch of bacon!”

Byleth’s ears perked up at once, tail thumping against the couch as she struggled through standing. She helped Edelgard stand, wrapping her tail around her waist as they followed the others to the kitchen. Bacon had been set on several small plates, Rhea and Berith already tearing into their portions. Byleth took her plate and a red mug of coffee, and Edelgard spotted Sothis pointing to a kettle on the stove.

They ate around the kitchen island, everyone growing more awake with coffee, tea, and bacon. As the cinnamon rolls baked in the oven, their scent and the sweet aroma of the frosting Sothis worked on filled the kitchen.

Standing between Byleth and Berith, Byleth’s tail still around her waist, Edelgard could not remember having a more comfortable breakfast. Her father had never been one for food in the morning, always drinking black coffee while reading the news. Silence had been the sound of her mornings for so long that the quiet, warm conversations the others had were a welcome change, little fragments of starlight peppered through her vision.

“What’s this about going on a walk?” Rhea eventually asked.

“Edelgard wanted to see where my house is getting built,” Berith said. “I thought we’d go for a walk on the trails because it’s been a while since By-By’s been home.”

“There shouldn’t be any bears out today, but mind your feet on the slopes.”

“Yes, Nanna,” Byleth and Berith said in unison.

“That goes double for you, little one,” Sothis said, gesturing at Edelgard as she frosted rolls. “I stopped counting how many humans I had to assist on the mountain because of a bad fall a long time ago.”

“I’ll be careful,” Edelgard replied.

“Once the snow slows down a little, it’ll be nice,” Jeralt said. “Bear’s place is in a good spot, close to a few wolf trails.”

“Trails we make and use,” Byleth said when Edelgard looked at her curiously. “They’re a little more private than the nature trails humans use.”

“They get us around the mountain pretty quickly,” Berith said. “The ones by the houses are good for walking with feet or paws.”

“They’re lovely in the evening in summer,” Sitri said. “Jeralt and I go out for moonlight strolls all the time.”

“You’ll see when we get out there,” Byleth said. “It really is nice—I’d go out on the trails when I needed some quiet time.”

“I envy you,” Edelgard said. “I would’ve killed to have a quiet place to go to when I was younger.”

“Do you mind if I go out as a wolf?” Byleth asked. “It’s been months since I could stretch out.”

“That’s all right,” Edelgard replied as Sothis handed everyone a cinnamon roll. “It might be easier for you to dig me out if I get stuck in the snow.”

“We’ll be fine,” Berith laughed. “I won’t take you on the steeper paths.” He nudged Edelgard’s side with his elbow. “Eat up. Hiking takes a lot of energy.”

“We’ll have cider ready when you come home, of course,” Sitri said.

Edelgard smiled, mood and energy bolstered by warm, delicious food. By the time most of the food was gone, the snowfall had come to a stop. Edelgard and Berith went to change for the walk, Byleth stripping down to change to a wolf. Sitri stopped them at the front door to wrap a long, warm scarf around Edelgard’s neck, and she sent them off with a smile and a wave.

It was perfectly silent outside, the only sound to hear being their feet in the snow. Edelgard held still on the doorstep to look around. Byleth’s truck was coated with snow, the tires buried in at least an inch of fresh powder. The sky was still covered in dark clouds, the sun and its warmth fully hidden. Every exhale was visible; the tips of her ears began to sting at once.

The snow was unlike anything she had seen in Enbarr: a crisp white she usually only saw on new canvases. Her feet sank into it when she moved off the doorstep, the crunch of it under her boots creating ripples of pale blue in the corners of her eyes.

“Wow,” she whispered.

“First big snow is always gorgeous,” Berith murmured, smiling at her as Byleth trotted around them. “Come on—I’ll shuffle a little so you have more of a trail.”

She nodded and followed his lead around one side of the house. Byleth romped through the snow around them, tail held high as she switched between trotting steps and bounding leaps. As they reached the trees and a narrow path tucked within them, Byleth kept off the path to give Edelgard space.

“This is the main path between our house and Nanna and Grand-Nan’s,” Berith said. “We’re going to go up a hill, so be careful of your feet slipping.”

“Is there no road between your houses?” Edelgard asked after a time climbing up and along the hill. “I didn’t notice once when we arrived.”

“It’s a gravel one, so it’s easy to miss under the snow. But the construction crew can get up here easy enough.” He paused and pointed through the trees. “You can see it curving a little bit from here based on where the snow is really flat.”

She looked where he pointed, seeing the flat stretch of snow below. It followed the curve of the hill they were traversing, wandering on ahead of them. A gust of wind knocked snow loose from the branches overhead and sent it fluttering down and away. Edelgard took a half step to watch it go, but Byleth moved in front of her to steady her when the snow underfoot broke unevenly.

“That side of the trail’s closer to the slope,” Berith said, helping Edelgard back away carefully. “Keep toward the hill for a while longer, okay?”

“All right,” Edelgard said, and she kept hold of Byleth’s fur for a time as they continued onward. When the trail leveled out more, Edelgard let go of Byleth and was glad she still kept close. The way Berith shuffled through the snow helped her, but she grew out of breath from the exertion sooner than she’d expected or would’ve liked.

“Doing okay?” Berith asked, stopping to offer a steadying hand.

“I am,” Edelgard said, but stopped and took his hand all the same. “I need to take more walks.”

“Snow hiking takes a lot,” he said. “Hang on.” He went off the trail, Byleth taking his place to keep Edelgard steady. When he returned, he was smiling and clapping snow off his gloves.

“Found a log,” he said. “We can sit for a little bit and By-By can go run around.”

Byleth bounced on her front paws, following them to the log to nuzzle Edelgard’s hands before bounding off into the underbrush. Edelgard let out a sigh, leaning back to stretch her back and legs. She stayed in that position for a time to stare up into the trees. The gray light barely came through the snow-covered branches, casting hazy shadows over everything. When she leaned forward again, she looked around.

The forest was thicker than any she had camped in before, swallowing the sounds Byleth made running around. Everything was still and soft, not even a trace of wind reaching them. She knew Berith was looking at her from the corner of his eye as she drank in the sight and settled into a quiet she had craved for years.

“What is it like in other seasons?” she asked.

“Fall’s where it quiets down most,” he replied. “Everyone’s getting ready for snow, even people who don’t live right on the mountain. Raccoons and bears get big and fat, some people do too. Summer’s busy, tourists come up a lot because it’s not muggy and stuffy like the city. All the pups and kids out here get bigger and figure out how to play.”

He smiled and said, “I think spring’s best, though. Everything wakes up, everything gets energized. Mom and Nanna and Grand-Nan all get their spark back. Byleth does, too. That first spring after she started transitioning was so great. We got to meet _her_ , you know?”

“I do,” Edelgard murmured. “When she told me she’s trans, it was—I felt like she trusted me. And then she told me she’s a wolf and I…I _knew_. I knew a lot of things.” She smiled. “She makes it so easy. Easier than anyone I’ve been with. I wish I’d met her sooner.”

“I wish she’d met _you_ sooner,” Berith said. “She’s been so happy with you.” He chuckled. “Even Nanna gets it. She loves that you make her happy, even with the human thing.”

“Berith,” Edelgard said quietly, “do you think I’d fit in here?”

He hummed. “Let me ask you a question back. What would you be looking for if you moved here?”

Edelgard thought for a long while, rubbing her hands together idly. She looked at the trees, the snow, and the traces of gray sky she could see overhead. Distantly, she heard Byleth in the underbrush and smiled.

“I want something _quiet_ ,” she said. “Space away from relatives who want me gone anyway. Somewhere I don’t have to deal with so many people crammed together, with all the noise and the traffic. But somewhere I can still go to hear people. A _home_. And…maybe a family. One that wants me there.”

Berith hummed again. He set one hand on her head, but did not ruffle her hair. Gently, he said, “I think you’d fit in just fine. And there’s always space for new people in a pack.”

Edelgard smiled and said, “Thank you.”

He patted her head as Byleth came trotting up. She nuzzled against Edelgard’s side, and her tail began to wag when Edelgard leaned down to kiss her head.

“Ready to keep going?” Berith asked, standing and offering a hand.

“I am,” Edelgard said, taking his hand. They continued on the trail for another ten minutes before Berith brought them to a branch of the trail leading out of the trees and back down the hill. The stretch of land he led them to was leveled out, and the framework of a house was protected by heavy tarps.

“Here she is,” Berith said, arms spread out. “It looks tiny buried in the snow, but it’ll be a good size. Big enough for me and whoever I meet and kids if we want.” He laughed. “Though it’s a toss-up if you two would have kids before I meet a nice guy and we adopt anyone.”

Edelgard barely had time to look at him, face aflame, before Byleth knocked him off his feet and into the nearest pile of snow. Berith sat up, laughing and covered in snow, and caught Byleth’s head when she tried to knock him over again. He used the momentum of her trying to shake him off to escape the snow, hurrying to hide behind Edelgard.

“Come on, I just think you two would have the cutest kids!” he laughed. “It’s a compliment!”

Byleth gave him a severe look, tail low, but blinked and turned when Edelgard began to laugh. Edelgard beckoned her closer, kneeling down to hug her as she continued to laugh. Byleth sat down before her and set her head over her shoulder, hooking one paw around her side to return the hug.

————

The snow started up again as they returned to the house and it continued through the afternoon and most of the night. Edelgard crept out of bed in the morning to take in the sight of the snow-covered trees outside Byleth’s window, but she returned to the safe warmth of Byleth’s arms soon enough. They were both startled awake by a knock on the door some time later.

“By,” Jeralt said through the door. “Need you and Bear up now. We gotta get some of this snow cleared off the driveway. Sitri’s getting a visitor.”

“All right, all right,” Byleth said, voice rough as she rubbed her face. “Gimme a minute.”

“Attagirl. Breakfast then shoveling.”

Byleth sat up, Edelgard following her lead as Byleth got out of bed. As they got dressed, Edelgard tapped Byleth’s side.

“Who would your mother be having over on a Sunday, of all days?” she asked.

“I’m not sure,” Byleth replied. “Sometimes wolves just come here if they have an issue they need to talk to her about outside her office hours.” She gave Edelgard a hand to hold as they went downstairs to eat. Breakfast was hearty, with Jeralt, Byleth, and Berith tearing through eggs, sausage, toast, and hash browns with a ferocity that made Edelgard stare as she ate. She and Sitri were left at the dining table to finish their food, Jeralt kissing Sitri’s head and Byleth doing the same to Edelgard.

“Sorry to send her into the snow like this,” Sitri said. “But splitting the shoveling makes it easier for everyone.”

“It’s all right,” Edelgard replied. “Can I ask who you’re having over?”

“Seteth.”

“Byleth’s teacher?”

“The one and only professor,” Sitri chuckled. “I mentioned that Byleth would be here this weekend and he asked to visit today to speak with her.”

Edelgard smiled slightly. “He wants her to apply for the position too?”

“To put it plainly, yes. Seteth doesn’t have many students who ask him to write letters of recommendation for universities and Byleth being passionate about his field of study left an impression on him.” She looked at Edelgard directly and said, “We had a new wolf family move here while Byleth was in Enbarr. They have a few little ones that will _need_ a good wolf mentor in school. Call it nepotism if you want, but Byleth is best suited for it.”

“I wouldn’t call it that at all,” Edelgard said, still smiling. “I think you’re both right. Byleth should apply for the position.”

Sitri looked at her, both brows raised. She asked, “You really think that?”

“I do.”

Sitri looked at her closely, eventually starting to smile knowingly. She asked, “Have you told Byleth you feel this way?”

“Not yet. I want to show her I support the decisions she makes, not to feel like I’m trying to influence her.” She picked up her mug of tea to take a drink. “And hopefully she’ll forgive me for the bit of selfishness I’ll ask for when it comes to moving here with her.”

“Why would you call it selfishness?” Sitri asked.

“It feels that way. I’m asking to come to her hometown and live with her when we’ve only been together for a few months.”

Sitri laughed. “You still have several months before the position would start, and I distinctly remember getting a giddy little text from Byleth saying _you_ had offered _your_ home when you two discussed your leases recently.” She leaned back in her chair, holding her mug of coffee.

“You make each other happy,” she said. “You don’t always need months and months of time to know that someone makes you truly happy. And it’s not selfish to pursue what makes you happy.”

Edelgard said nothing and looked at the table. After a lengthy pause, she said, “I suppose both points are true. I’m not used to wanting— _anything_ with another person, honestly. Even though it feels right with her.”

“You’re allowed,” Sitri said, voice so firm that Edelgard jumped. When Edelgard looked at her, she grinned. “There, someone’s given you permission to be ‘selfish’ about it. That makes it easier, doesn’t it?”

Edelgard chuckled, smiling faintly. “It does. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, dear. Honestly, _I’m_ being a little selfish. I think you two are cute and I want you to work.” Then, with her horribly innocent smile, she added, “Also, Grandma and I think you two would give me _very_ cute grandkids and I’d be more than happy to start spoiling them.”

Edelgard did not have the excuse of the freezing cold to explain away why her face burned then, and she looked down as she struggled to not laugh. Sitri laughed for her, getting up to kiss her head. Edelgard went with her to the kitchen when they were finished eating, taking the opportunity to regain her composure by helping clean up.

“We can settle in the living room, dear,” Sitri said when all the dishes were put away. “They’re going to be out there a bit longer, but that’s where they’ll go to recover.” As she started off, she said, “Feel free to get some work done if you brought anything to draw with. I need to go over some paperwork before Seteth gets here.”

Edelgard nodded, heading upstairs and retrieving her phone and the tablet and pencil she’d packed in her bag. She curled up on one side of the couch to check her email for the first time in nearly two days. A few emails were in a thread from her current contract of concept work, requests for critiques from the group on the email. Another was from a commissioner giving an okay for a final progress update, with an added note wishing her a pleasant break. The last email she read was one sent to the address she used only for commissions, and she raised a brow at the “tempestKing” address and signature.

“Oh, they want something similar to my emperor,” she murmured after reading the email. “That’s interesting.” She looked at the reference photos and sketches that had been attached to the email, smiling at them. “All right, this should be fun to work on.” She sent a reply accepting the commission before starting to work on cartoony doodles of wolves to relax. Sitri came along with a stack of papers and a pair of reading glasses, sitting in an armchair and starting to read.

It was late in the morning when Jeralt, Byleth, and Berith came back in, all of them red faced from the exertion and the cold, and they went to change out of their wet clothes. They returned to the living room, Jeralt sitting heavily in another armchair while Byleth sat next to Edelgard and Berith took a quilt to wrap himself in before sitting on the floor.

“Does anyone mind?” he asked, pointing at the TV.

“Go ahead, sweetie,” Sitri said, eyes on her papers. Jeralt nodded and leaned back in his chair to get comfortable, and Berith waited for nods from Byleth and Edelgard before turning on the TV and one of the game consoles. Edelgard showed Byleth her doodles to make her smile, watching Berith start one of her favorite games. The familiar music and visuals were oddly relaxing out of her control, and she leaned against Byleth to continue doodling.

Jeralt had started to nod off when the front door was knocked on, but he took to his feet faster than Byleth could manage. He went for the door as Sitri shuffled her papers into a neat stack. Byleth and Berith would have remained where they were, but they jumped when they heard Jeralt speaking to the man at the door. When Jeralt led an older man into the room, Edelgard felt Byleth freeze next to her.

The man was dressed in a well-worn suit despite the snow, looking all the world like the professors Edelgard had studied under. His thick hair and slim beard were a dark silver touched with a hint of green, and he looked at Sitri as she stood up.

“Thank you for having me,” he said. “I know Sunday visits are a bit of an intrusion.”

“Not at all, Seteth,” Sitri replied. “Byleth, can you come with us for a bit?”

Edelgard took Byleth’s closest hand and squeezed it gently, smiling when Byleth looked at her. Still, there was hesitance in Byleth when she stood up and followed Sitri and Seteth away. Berith looked at Edelgard and at Jeralt when he sat back down, surprise clear on his face.

“You didn’t say it was Seteth who was going to visit,” Berith said.

“By would’ve gotten in a twist,” Jeralt said. “And you would’ve told her if Sitri told you beforehand.”

“Fair,” Berith admitted. He looked toward the hall they’d gone down and said, “I didn’t think he’d come to talk to By-By about the teaching spot.”

“You know how he is about giving kids a good environment. He just wants to make sure they still have that after he’s gone.” Jeralt turned to Edelgard then, saying, “Don’t think we’re trying to take her away from you or anything. We’ll get it if she decides to stay in Enbarr or work somewhere else. Seteth just wants to make his case.”

Edelgard smiled. “I know. Honestly, I want her to apply.”

Jeralt looked at her, brows raised. “Even if it takes her out of Enbarr?”

“I never said I wanted to _stay_ in Enbarr.”

He stared at her a moment before smiling and laughing through his nose. “I’d say I’m surprised, but I get it. Something about Garreg Mach’s just nice. By tell you I’m from a different mountain?”

“She hadn’t, no,” Edelgard said. “I assumed everyone grew up in Garreg Mach.”

“Nah, I grew up in Remire, over in Faerghus. Didn’t have a lot of prospects, so I hitchhiked my way over as a teenager when I heard there were wolves up here.” He pointed over one shoulder. “Ran into Sitri on the trails—she was working guard then. Prettiest girl I’d ever seen, and way too sweet to some rough mountain kid. Helped me get a job on guard and let me take her to dinner when I had money. Really sweet, still surprised she said yes when I proposed.”

“Dad,” Berith chuckled, “you’re gushing about Mom again.”

“Oh.” He cleared his throat quietly. “Well, my point is that I’m not surprised. I’ve been in your shoes feeling like Garreg Mach is a good place from the first visit.”

“Thank you,” Edelgard said. “That makes me feel better.”

“Good,” Jeralt said with a smile. “Just make sure By knows that.”

“I will,” she said, and they settled in to wait for the others to return. It was close to an hour later that they did, Sitri and Seteth coming first and Byleth trailing with a deeply thoughtful expression on her face. Berith paused the game to stand up and offer a hand to Seteth.

“Good to see you, sir,” he said.

“Yes, you as well, Berith,” Seteth said with a smile. “Thank you as always for watching the mountain.”

“Please remind your wolf kids to not go on the north side of the mountain. I keep finding tracks getting way too close to the bear dens over there.”

He sighed. “I will remind them _again_. Young wolves and their delusions of invulnerability.” He looked at Edelgard then, uncertainty in his small smile.

“Oh!” Sitri said. “Manners!” She beckoned to Edelgard, putting a hand on her back when she was on her feet. “Edelgard, this is Seteth Cichol. Seteth, Edelgard Hresvelg, Byleth’s girlfriend.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,” Edelgard said, offering a hand.

He looked at her, uncertainty leaving his smile, and took her hand to shake. “Likewise, Miss Hresvelg. I assume your visit is the reason Byleth is here this weekend?”

“It is.”

“Then I thank you, and I’ll let you get back to your visit.” He patted Byleth’s shoulder, saying, “Please give it some thought, Byleth. It’s all I ask.”

“I will, sir,” Byleth said quietly. “Thank you for taking the time to come and discuss it.”

Seteth nodded, and he followed Sitri back to the front door. Berith sat down first, and Edelgard led Byleth back to their spot on the couch when Byleth looked at her. Byleth took one of her hands to hold when they were settled, and Edelgard set her tablet aside to simply lean against her as she remained quiet and still.

The rest of the day went quietly, Byleth speaking up and being cheerful when prompted, but drifting back into thoughtful silence soon enough. Edelgard let her think, but stayed close because Byleth reached for her hand again and again. When reports came in that plows had cleared the extra snow by Monday afternoon, Byleth began to come out of her thoughts. She was smiling properly when they put their bags in her truck Tuesday morning, and she hugged every family member tight when they saw her and Edelgard off.

“Come to visit again soon,” Sitri said. “Both of you, okay?”

“I’ll be glad to,” Edelgard said, and she smiled because Byleth nodded without hesitation. When Byleth drove them away, Edelgard waved through the back window before they went out of sight, and she stayed quiet to let Byleth focus on driving through the winding mountain roads.

“So,” Byleth said when they reached the highway, “that’s my family and Garreg Mach. Did…you have a good time?”

“I really did,” Edelgard said, giving Byleth a hand to hold. “The extra day away from the city was wonderful.”

“Even with all the snow?”

“Yes, even with that,” Edelgard chuckled. “It was nicer than any trip I’ve taken in years.”

Byleth took a quick look at her, brows raised. Turning back to the road, she asked, “It was?”

“I told you before, didn’t I? That I don’t particularly like living in the city?”

“Oh,” Byleth said quietly. She went silent, rubbing Edelgard’s knuckles with her thumb as she drove. Taking a deep breath, she said, “Mom and Seteth made a really strong case about me applying for the position up here. It pays more than I expected—better than a lot of places in Enbarr I was looking at. And really nice benefits, the same we got from Mom when we were kids.” She laughed slightly. “Wouldn’t have to worry about my HRT again.”

She squeezed Edelgard’s hand and said, “Seteth told me the wolf teachers meet regularly to talk about if any of their kids are struggling to make sure no one’s stuck feeling alone, and they have meetings with the human teachers to help the human kids, too. I never realized what the wolf teachers did for us all the way through school. Honestly…I’d like to do that for other wolves. Other kids.”

“You want to apply for the position,” Edelgard said simply.

“I do.” She looked at Edelgard a moment, smiling nervously when she turned back to the road. “So…what do you think?”

“I think you should apply,” Edelgard said. She gripped Byleth’s hand when she stepped on the gas suddenly, giggling when Byleth shot her a look that was startled and hopeful all at once.

“You really think that?” she asked.

“I do,” said Edelgard. “And I think we should start researching housing. For _us_.”

Byleth kept her eyes on the road, but let out a laugh and lifted Edelgard’s hand to kiss her wrist. She said, “You have no idea how much I adore you, El.”

“I can assure you it’s mutual,” Edelgard said, kissing her hand in turn.

It became part of their routine, discussing the logistics of their leases ending at different times and how a move would need to be coordinated. Edelgard took time to research the apartments available in Garreg Mach, Byleth reviewing them based on their addresses when they met.

“The locations aren’t bad,” Byleth said before dinner one Friday two weeks after their trip. She flipped through the printouts Edelgard had given her, sitting on the bed as she did. “But they’re a lot smaller than I expected.”

“I know,” Edelgard sighed, working to finish the commission she’d accepted at Garreg Mach. “Even if we compromised and shared one room for office space, the two bedroom apartments are pretty cramped.” She saved the painting and looked at Byleth. “I think our next step is to look at houses, but didn’t you say those are even less common in Garreg Mach?”

“Unfortunately, yeah. I asked Mom about it after I gave her my application and she said people don’t rent houses _in_ Garreg Mach, they rent them _near_ the town. Which could mean a lot of driving for both of us if we’re far away from everything.”

“I have no desire to do that with my car in the winter,” Edelgard said with a grimace. “We’ll have to keep looking, then. Would your mother have any other insight on housing, since she helps new wolves settle?”

“She might, and she could definitely ask around in town hall. We can call her tomorrow and talk about it after breakfast.”

“Which I would love to go out for and pay for as a treat, if I can get the payment for this today.” She set her pen down and gestured to the painting on her monitor. “What do you think?”

“This is the commission for that really polite person?”

“I’d say not to tease, but they have been more polite and faster to reply than a lot of my commissions this year.” She stretched her arms and hands as Byleth looked closely at the painting. It was of a man in fine blue-black and silver armor, confidence in his smile and strength showing in the way he held an ornate lance. Painting him had reminded her again and again of her own horn-crowned emperor, and she smiled when Byleth grinned at it.

“I love when you do character paintings like this,” Byleth said. “They’ll flip over it.”

“That’s always my hope with commissions,” Edelgard said. As she typed a quick email, she said, “I got a taste for seeing people get excited over my art after I saw how Papa and Dimitri would react to things I drew for them. It’s why I try to keep commissions open all the time.”

“Let’s have dinner and give them time to pay you,” Byleth said, kissing her cheek. “But work stops after the dishes.”

Edelgard caught her shirt before she could straighten up, giving her a long, warm kiss. Smiling, Byleth kissed her neck and her cheek before going to the bed to gather the printouts. It gave Edelgard time to save the painting and a few extra versions of different sizes to an online drive, and she brought her phone out to the kitchen with them. They were halfway through making a hearty stir fry when her phone chimed twice, and Byleth laughed as she took Edelgard’s spot at the stove.

“They _really_ want that art!” she said.

“They really do,” Edelgard chuckled. She glanced at a notification, seeing that a payment was waiting for her, before opening her email to send the drive’s link along. With the link and a polite “thank you” sent, she returned to cooking under Byleth’s guidance. They were putting the finished stir fry on plates when her phone chimed again, and Byleth looked at Edelgard curiously.

“I hope I didn’t set the drive’s permissions incorrectly,” Edelgard said. She picked up her phone and checked her email. As Byleth picked up their plates, she smiled. “It’s a thank you message.”

“Aw, that’s sweet of them!” Byleth said, going to the table. “Can I ask what it says?”

“It says,” Edelgard said, bringing two forks with her to the table, “‘thank you so much for this amazing piece of art. I’ve wanted to commission someone for years and I’m glad I came across your profile. Your style reminds me of someone I knew a long time ago and getting this was like seeing her work again. Thank you, truly, for taking me back to…when…my sister and I were…happy rulers of our own little fantasy kingdoms.’”

She stared at her phone. She looked at Byleth, unsure what kind of expression was on her own face with how Byleth looked at her in concern.

“What’s wrong?” Byleth asked.

“Dima and I pretended to be rulers of different kingdoms,” Edelgard said quietly. “He lived in Faerghus and I lived in Adrestia—he pretended to be king and I pretended to be emperor.” She hesitated. “There’s no way—just—will you let me check something?”

“Of course.”

Edelgard held her breath and went to her business PayPal. She tensed her legs as the account loaded. When the details finally appeared, she froze.

Waiting for her was a payment from the account of Dimitri A. Blaiddyd.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I laughed so hard when I figured out how this chapter ended and how I get to go forward with Dimitri involved. Much like Rhea, I've come to like him a lot more after reading up on the other routes, so I'm glad to finally be including him in something!
> 
> Catch me [on twitter](https://twitter.com/shinjishazaki) for updates, mini previews, other nonsense, and a pinned tweet on how to get in on the "request" fics I've been posting lately!


	4. Lost, Wanted, Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edelgard had been prepared to never find her brother again. The chance to meet him leaves her reeling, nervous and wary of the family that had thrown her away so long ago. Still, she reaches out in the hope that he might do the same.
> 
> As February approaches, she and Byleth take steps forward toward a future together.
> 
> (Explicit content warning for end of chapter)

Edelgard was keenly aware of everything in that moment. Her phone was terribly heavy in her hand, but the sound it made when she put it on the table was jarringly faint. She put a hand over her mouth even as her throat grew tight, and she felt her legs begin to shake. Byleth stared, getting out of her chair to kneel next to her.

“El, what’s wrong?” she asked, putting her hands on her shoulders. “You look like you’re going to cry.”

“It’s my brother,” Edelgard whispered. She swallowed, lowered her hand, and repeated, “It’s my brother. The person who commissioned me—it’s his name on the account.”

Byleth’s jaw dropped. She smiled massively, letting out a laugh of disbelief. Putting a hand on Edelgard’s cheek, she said, “El, that’s _great_! You can talk to him!”

“I can’t,” Edelgard said, so quick and forceful that Byleth’s smile vanished. “This can’t be right.”

“Wait, what can’t be?”

“This is—some plot of my mother’s,” Edelgard said. She stood up to pace, to get away from the name on her phone. “Or someone else. Dima’s father, some cousin of mine. This is them finding me, there’s no—”

“El, _wait_ ,” Byleth said, going to catch her. “What do you mean a plot?”

“This is what they did to me,” Edelgard said. She closed her hands into fists, but it did not stop them from shaking. “They would try to get on my good side and then try to get money from me, or get me to have Papa update his will for them.” She looked down, the shaking spreading to her legs. “There’s no way this is—it _can’t_ —”

“ _Edelgard_ ,” Byleth said. She made Edelgard look up, setting her thumbs on her cheeks.

Feeling tears on her skin, Edelgard flinched. Though she put her hands on Byleth’s arms, she did not push her away. Instead, she held tight to have any sense of balance as the world tried to fall away under her feet.

“What if he hates me?” she whispered. “It’s been almost ten years since we’ve seen each other—we only talked on the phone or in texts during high school. What if—Byleth, if he _blames_ me for not staying in contact…if he hates me like the rest of them do, I can’t—I can’t stand to lose him _twice_.”

“El, it’s okay,” Byleth murmured. “Come here, sit down with me.”

She followed Byleth’s lead back to the table, sitting down and staring through it into the middle distance. She looked up when Byleth brought her chair over, barely reacting when Byleth turned her chair away from the table so they faced each other. Byleth offered her hands, nodding when Edelgard took them.

“I want to go through this with you,” Byleth said. “Just to try to take the anxiety out of it, okay?”

“All right,” Edelgard said quietly, wishing her legs would stop shaking.

“All right. Is your name anywhere on the accounts or profiles he used to commission you?”

“No.”

“Not even the PayPal account he paid to?”

“No. I have a business account so my name’s not visible.”

“Okay,” Byleth said. “So there’s no way he’d know that account goes to you—let’s just pretend he didn’t know it’s you beforehand. Did any of your family members know any of your profiles before your father passed away?”

“No,” Edelgard said. “I never let them see any site I was logged into. Not even Papa or Dima.”

“Okay. How much has your art changed since high school? His email said your style _reminds_ him of your work when you were younger.”

She hesitated, squeezing Byleth’s hands as she thought. She said, “I suppose…enough that people who don’t see my work often wouldn’t link them to the same person.”

“Okay,” Byleth said. “So it’s unlikely that he recognized you from the art style, since it’s different now, and he never knew your usernames. There’s no way he knows your name just from this commission, since you’ve got it really well hidden. And based on everything you’ve told me about you two, it sounds like he loved you. Loved you more than he loved your mom. I don’t think he’d try to find you for her, El. I think he’d try to find you for himself. So my last question is this. Do you want to reach out to him?”

“Yes,” Edelgard said without hesitation.

“Okay,” Byleth said with a smile. She lifted Edelgard’s hands to kiss her palms. “Then let’s have dinner and send him an email after we eat.”

Edelgard looked at her as the shaking finally subsided. She looked at their hands and lifted them to kiss Byleth’s fingers gently, sweetly. She said, “Okay. Thank…thank you, Byleth.”

Byleth grinned and kissed her cheek. “You’re welcome. Really, let’s eat before it cools off too much. You’ll feel better.”

Edelgard nodded, letting Byleth’s hands go. As she turned her chair toward the table, Byleth brought her plate over so she could sit closer. They ate quietly, Byleth keeping a hand on Edelgard’s knee. The stir fry was still warm, savory in a way that helped settle Edelgard’s nerves. It kept her from dwelling on what words to use, how a reply might come back in. She focused on eating, on the warmth and weight of Byleth’s hand. There was safety in it, and Edelgard let herself relax with Byleth so close.

“Can I ask where you learned that?” Edelgard asked when they were almost done. “Berith did something similar when I asked him something that was making me anxious.”

“The question thing?” Byleth said, smiling. “It’s something Dad does. If we got nervous or upset, he’d sit us down and get us to go through it logically. Hopefully it’ll help some kids needing a way to calm down during classes.”

“It certainly helped me.” She finished her food, standing up with Byleth to start cleaning. When the dishes were dry and put away, they went to sit on the couch. Edelgard read and reread the email, chewing on the inside of her cheek as Byleth held her.

“Can I try to talk the email out to you?” Edelgard asked.

“Want me to type as you go?”

“Yes,” Edelgard said after a moment. She created a new email on her personal account, leaving the recipient blank when she passed her phone over. For a time, she sat perfectly still and lost herself in thought. She took a breath.

“Hi Dimitri,” she said. “This must come as a surprise, but…this is Edelgard. Your sister. You commissioned _me_ for your Tempest King character. I—I was…so shocked when I saw your name on the payment. I—I just—wait a moment.”

“Okay.”

She took a deep breath, putting her hands over her face. Whispering, she said, “Goddess, let me get this right.”

“You will,” Byleth said gently. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Edelgard nodded. She thought, and then continued, “Dima, I’m…I’m so, so sorry I lost contact. I never wanted to. If you would—even just consider speaking to me again, I would…it would mean the world to me. You can reply to this email address at any time, if you want to at all.”

She took a deep breath. “I’ve missed you so much, Dima. I hope you reply. Sincerely, your big sister, El.”

Byleth nodded, typing quickly before handing the phone back. The email was written perfectly, most of the hesitating words removed. Edelgard, legs starting to shake again, rushed through sending it to the tempestKing address before she could hesitate. She curled up against Byleth, setting her head on her shoulder but resisting the urge to hide her face.

“It’ll be okay,” Byleth murmured. “He loves you. I know he does.” She leaned close to whisper in her ear, “You’re lovable, El.”

Edelgard held onto her arm. She whispered back, “So are you.”

They sat in silence for a long time. Just as Byleth reached for the TV remote, Edelgard’s phone chimed. They stared. Edelgard slowly picked up her phone. She opened her email.

_EL???_ was the first line.

_EL ARE YOU REAL PLEASE SAY SO_   
_I MISSED YOU_   
_EL I MISSED YOU SO MUCH PLEASE SAY THIS IS REAL_

“Byleth,” Edelgard said, voice shaking, “ _look_.”

Byleth took her phone and read the email. She smiled gently. “I think he wants to talk, El.”

Edelgard took her phone back and rushed through a reply of, “It’s me, I promise it’s me, I’ve missed you so, so much.”

_EL I WANT TO SEE YOU PLEASE_   
_I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS IS REAL_   
_CAN I SEE YOU_

She hesitated. She replied, “Yes. Can you come to Adrestia?”

_YES I PROMISE I CAN_   
_CAN I MEET YOU SOON_

“Byleth?” Edelgard said. “He wants to meet me. Soon. Will you go with me?”

“Of course. Just say when and where.”

She thought. “What about next weekend? At our favorite pizza place?”

“Can’t say no to that,” Byleth said, kissing her head.

“Thank you.” She went back to her email, sending the restaurant’s address and a question of, “Will you meet me here next weekend? Someone will be with me, okay?”

_OKAY_   
_Okay_   
_Yes, I can meet you next weekend! And anyone else! I can’t wait to see you again, El! Is noon Saturday okay?_

“Absolutely,” Edelgard whispered as she typed. “We’ll see you then. I promise.”

_I’ll see you soon, El!_

Edelgard stared at her phone, holding it in both hands. She barely reacted when Byleth gently pulled her into her lap to hold her close, but leaned into her touch without a word. Byleth rubbed her back slowly, humming a soft tune.

“Doing okay?” she asked.

“I think,” Edelgard. She took a deep breath and let it out shakily. “I’m probably going to have a nightmare tonight.”

“I was worried you’d say that,” Byleth said. She kissed Edelgard’s head. “Anything I can do to help? Singing, a massage, going out for other kinds of tea?”

“Other tea,” Edelgard said. “And—making something to eat.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Please. I feel like something that smells good in the apartment will help.”

“Makes sense to me,” Byleth said. “What about cookies? I think you have all the things you need to make them—you have a little hand mixer in one of your drawers.”

“Yes please.” She gladly kept still when Byleth wrapped her arms around her to hold her tight, whispering, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Byleth whispered back. She waited until Edelgard kissed her chin before letting her go to stand up. They dressed to go back out, Edelgard keeping hold of Byleth’s hand all through the store. Chamomile tea and supplies for chocolate chip cookies were what they brought back home, and Edelgard set about brewing tea as Byleth gathered mixing and measuring tools that hadn’t seen use in years.

It made the night more gentle. Byleth’s patient instructions mixed in with her not so sneakily feeding Edelgard individual chocolate chips were enough to make Edelgard smile genuinely. The scent of the cookies in the oven and the chamomile tea were soothing, a balm over frayed nerves. Byleth stayed close, smiling whenever Edelgard caught the hem of her shirt to hold or reached to take her hand. When they finally went to bed, they both fell asleep quickly.

It all made the night more gentle. It did not keep Edelgard from visiting her nightmares and seeing how they’d warped in scale and scope. At every turn, something was being ripped away from her, dragged away into darkness and an unreachable distance. Byleth was first, their hands unable to meet for Edelgard to grab and keep hold of. Berith was next, already far out of reach when Edelgard saw him. Sitri, Jeralt, Rhea, and Sothis vanished as Edelgard fell through the surface of the world, wrapped up in shadows that flickered and faded at once.

As she fell, Edelgard caught sight of a young blond boy looking down and away. He was still so small, so miserable looking, and she tried to reach out to him. She shouted his name as she continued to fall, but he never noticed her no matter how much she struggled. All she heard was her mother’s voice, harsh and breaking and laughing coldly.

Edelgard woke out of breath, shaking from head to foot and coated in an icy sweat. One of her hands was free, grabbing at the sheets in a weak attempt to pull back everything her nightmare had worked to rip away from her. A hand she recognized even in the dark gently came down on hers, bringing her scrambling to a stop.

“You’re okay, El,” Byleth said, words slurred together with how she was half asleep. “‘M here. Don’t worry.”

Edelgard kept still. She felt how Byleth was holding her, both of them under the starry quilt. As her eyes adjusted to the dark and her pounding heart slowed down, she looked over her shoulder. Byleth did not move, even when Edelgard gingerly rolled over in her arms. Her hands drifted to Edelgard’s back when Edelgard moved closer, holding her steady even as she failed to go back to sleep.

Morning came as slowly as Edelgard expected, light filtering in past the curtains. Byleth woke relatively early, sniffing as she came around. She buried her nose in Edelgard’s hair and inhaled deeply, but sighed as she rubbed her back.

“Nightmare?” she asked.

“Yes,” Edelgard replied.

“Dammit.” She pulled Edelgard closer, stroking her hair. “Want to stay in for breakfast?”

“Yes. I apologize. We can go out for lunch instead.”

“That’s all right by me, El. You don’t have to apologize.”

“Still,” Edelgard mumbled. She kissed Byleth’s throat and said, “Thank you.”

“Welcome,” Byleth said, kissing her head. Chuckling, she asked, “Today’s a coffee day for you, then?”

“It is,” Edelgard said with a weary laugh. She followed Byleth out of bed, groggily waiting as coffee brewed. Breakfast was simple and quiet, Byleth sitting close to keep a hand on Edelgard’s knee. By the time they’d put their dishes away, Edelgard was less groggy and her hands steadier.

“Can we still call Sitri about houses?” she asked. “I don’t want to get distracted from it because of my ridiculous nightmares.”

“Sure. She’ll probably take a minute to ask why you sound so tired, though.”

“That’s all right,” Edelgard sighed. “I’ll have to get used to it.” She made Byleth lean down to kiss her cheek, saying, “Let me get a notepad.”

Byleth nodded, and she was sitting ready at the table with her phone and their coffee when Edelgard returned with a notepad and a pen. She called Sitri, intending to put the phone on speaker and laying it flat before them. When she saw the screen change to show a video of Sitri’s quilting room, she scrambled to pick her phone up while Edelgard broke down in giggles.

“Mom, why do you keep keep answering on video?” Byleth asked, propping her phone up against her coffee mug.

“ _Three reasons this time,_ ” Sitri said. “ _First is I’m working on a quilt and my laptop is closer. Second is that I figured Edelgard would be with you at this time of day. Last,_ ” she said, turning her laptop so Rhea came into view of the camera, “ _Mama is here to help with color picking and she wanted to see you._ ”

“ _Good morning, Byleth,_ ” Rhea said. “ _And good morning, Edelgard._ ”

“Good morning,” Edelgard said, giggles coming to an end.

“ _What’s got you two calling so early?_ ” Sitri asked.

“We wanted to ask if you have any advice on where to look for a place,” Byleth said. “The apartments we’re finding are a little too small, so we were thinking about looking at houses.”

Sitri hummed. “ _That’s a better idea if you want more space, but we just don’t have a lot of houses to rent in town. And the last house I remember seeing for rent nearby is actually relatively close to the highway, so that would be quite a commute in winter._ ”

“That’s what we were worried about,” Edelgard said, making a few notes. She blinked when she realized she’d misspelled three simple words in her exhaustion, scribbling them out with a frown. “Even if she’s used to driving in the snow, Byleth having to drive that far every day in winter makes me nervous. Never mind me having to learn how to drive in snow like that in the first place.”

Byleth sighed, drumming her fingers on the table. “So our options are a small apartment or a long drive. Or…well.”

“Buying,” Edelgard said.

“Yeah,” Byleth said quietly.

“ _Mother and I have seen a few ‘for sale’ signs when we walk the area as humans,_ ” Rhea said. “ _Though we’ve never taken closer looks._ ”

“ _I know the houses you mean,_ ” Sitri said. “ _They’d work well in terms of a commute to the academy. I don’t remember their sizes, so I’d have to look them up._ ”

“Do you know offhand how old those houses are?” Edelgard asked.

Sitri turned to Rhea, who closed her eyes as she thought. Rhea said, “ _Most homes in this area were built when I was young, so they would be at least sixty or seventy years old. Sitri and Jeralt built this house about thirty-five years ago._ ”

“I imagine those homes might not be the best insulated,” Edelgard said. “Or might need other updates.”

“ _That’s true,_ ” Sitri said. “ _Our new wolf family had to ask for help finding a good repairman for their old heater when the season changed._ ”

“I see,” Edelgard murmured. She tapped her pen on the notepad. She thought, and then looked at Byleth. “What about building?”

Byleth stared at her, both eyebrows raised. After a few seconds, she said, “What?”

“I feel like building would be better than hoping an older house would work.”

“You want to build a house?”

Edelgard looked at her blankly. “Is that bad?”

“I—no—I guess not, but—El, maybe that’s something we discuss when you haven’t been up all night.”

“Oh.” She rubbed her eyes. “That’s fair.”

“ _What?_ ” Sitri said. “ _Edelgard, why were you up all night? Don’t tell me you had more nightmares._ ”

“I did,” Edelgard said. “It’s all right.”

“ _Staying awake the entire night because of a nightmare is hardly ‘all right,’_ ” Rhea said. “ _Is something troubling you?_ ”

“It’s,” Edelgard started, but she sighed quietly. “It’s…family issues. My brother and I haven’t spoken to each other in years, but Byleth and I are meeting him next weekend. It’s—making me more nervous than I thought it would.”

She smiled weakly, looking at the table. “I’m worried about something happening, so…I had a nightmare about losing everyone. Byleth, Berith, my brother, and—all of you. With how the rest of my family is, I wouldn’t be surprised by something happening.”

“ _That’s_ what your nightmare was about?” Byleth asked, voice soft with concern.

Edelgard nodded. She looked up when Byleth took her hand, seeing how Sitri and Rhea had gone stiff.

“ _Wait a moment,_ ” Rhea said as she stood up. She went out of frame and was gone for a time, Sitri moving pieces of fabric to one side as she waited with a serious expression. When Rhea returned, both Jeralt and Berith were with her, all three of them wearing the same serious expression as Sitri. Edelgard stared, frozen to her chair.

“ _Everything okay?_ ” Berith asked. “ _Nanna says you’re nervous about meeting someone._ ”

“ _It’s not a problem if you want one of us there for some backup,_ ” Jeralt said. “ _Always better to be safe if you’re not sure._ ”

“But,” Edelgard said, “I couldn’t—it’s just my ridiculous anxiety, I couldn’t ask you to come all the way to Enbarr for that.”

“ _Yes you can,_ ” Jeralt replied. “ _By’s asked us to come down just to have a day together. You can ask us to come down for a day to feel safe, kid._ ”

For a long while, Edelgard was silent because words had left her. She looked at them, taken aback by the way they all looked at her with concern in their eyes. It was unfamiliar, setting a weight on her shoulders that was comforting. She squeezed Byleth’s hand.

“I would really appreciate that,” she admitted.

“ _You got it. D‘you want me to come down, or Bear?_ ”

“Maybe Berith,” Edelgard said. “So Dimitri doesn’t get too confused by who’s with me.”

“ _Not a problem,_ ” Berith said. “ _Want me to come down Friday, or Saturday?_ ”

“Berith, we’re getting rain next weekend, so why don’t you come down Friday?” Byleth said. “You can crash on my couch—we’re not meeting him until noon.”

“ _Sounds good to me,_ ” he replied. “ _Good for you, Edelgard?_ ”

“It is,” Edelgard said, quiet as her throat tightened. “Thank you, Berith. Everyone.”

“ _You’re more than welcome, dear,_ ” Sitri said gently, and Edelgard looked down as her eyes burned.

————

The first thing Berith did when he arrived the following Friday was pull Edelgard into a hug. Edelgard gladly accepted it, ready to fall asleep on her feet with how little rest she’d gotten during the week. They let go when Byleth patted their backs, all of them going inside as the rain poured.

“Are you okay with me staying _here_ , Edelgard?” Berith asked, looking around her apartment. “I was surprised when Byleth texted me your address before I left and said to come here.”

“I am,” Edelgard said. “And Byleth wanted to cook for all of us, which is easier here.”

“Adrestian curry, Bear-Bear,” Byleth said, heading for the kitchen. “Should warm us up.”

“Sounds good to me.” He touched Edelgard’s shoulder when she turned to follow Byleth, opening his arms. “One more from Mom.”

She smiled slightly and accepted the hug, saying, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he murmured, rubbing her back. As they let go, he asked, “Have you heard anything else from him?”

“No,” Edelgard said. “Nothing to change or cancel our plans, so we should still be meeting him tomorrow.”

“All right.” He looked about again. “Your place is really nice. And it feels like your heat works.”

“It does,” Byleth called from the kitchen. “El let me stay here this week and I’m not looking forward to going back to that icebox.”

“I bet,” he laughed.

It made for a calm evening, Byleth and Berith talking about the weather on the drive and Edelgard focusing on the silver and gold their voices created in her vision. When they went to the couch after dinner, Edelgard remained quiet while the twins found something to stream and provide a running commentary on. She curled up next to Byleth, leaning against her and eventually closing her eyes.

Edelgard was unsure when she fell asleep, only waking up because Byleth had picked her up to carry her to bed. She managed to change into her sleeping clothes before drifting off again the moment she was in bed. Despite it, she woke from the same nightmare a few hours later, and she only relaxed when Byleth sleepily pulled her closer.

It took Edelgard a moment to remember Berith was there when she smelled coffee brewing in the morning, and she sighed as Byleth slowly woke up. Byleth heard, and she gently made Edelgard look up. Edelgard could only imagine how terrible the bags under her eyes had become based on the concern in Byleth’s gaze then, and she set her head against her chest.

“It’ll be over after today,” Edelgard mumbled, “one way or another.”

“And it’ll be okay, El,” Byleth said, kissing her head. “Come on, let’s have breakfast.”

Edelgard nodded, the two of them going out into the kitchen. Berith was at the ready with two fresh mugs of coffee, offering one to Edelgard with a soft sigh.

“I really hope this goes well so you can eat a bunch of pizza and come back here to have a food coma nap,” he said.

“I would like that, honestly,” Edelgard said as she and Byleth added cream and sugar to their coffee. “Thank you for making this.”

“Gladly, especially if By-By makes pancakes.”

“You’re lucky we have everything for it,” Byleth said. “Now out of the kitchen, both of you.”

Berith laughed and went with Edelgard to settle on the couch until food was ready. Edelgard kept an eye on the time at every step, checking her phone over and over as they ate and cleaned up one at a time. Noon approached steadily, but she was still left reeling at how soon they had to leave.

The rain was still pouring as Byleth drove them through the city, and the temperature was only just above freezing. It did not help Edelgard’s exhausted shivering, and she was glad to have the heat turned up high in the truck. They reached the restaurant as she got her shivering under control, all of them hurrying inside to avoid getting drenched.

“Hello!” the server at the entrance said, a smile on her face. “A table for three?”

“Actually,” Edelgard said, “for four. We’re meeting someone else. My brother.”

“Oh! I actually sat someone down a few minutes ago who said he was waiting for his sister! Come on back with me, he’s at a table big enough for four.”

Edelgard held her breath and Byleth’s hand as the server led them in. A few other people were in the restaurant, but she ignored all of them. No one they passed had blond hair, but the man sitting alone at a table at the back of the restaurant did. He stared at the table, looking as anxious and exhausted as Edelgard felt. He was hunched where he sat, his coat on his shoulders and one of his legs bouncing nervously. The sound of their footsteps drew his attention, and he looked at the server, at Berith, at Byleth, and finally at Edelgard.

“Hopefully I’m not bringing the wrong person,” the server said. “She said she was meeting her brother, sir.”

“Dima?” Edelgard said quietly.

The man’s eyes widened as his mouth opened. He exhaled shakily and moved too quickly for anyone to react. Edelgard found herself lifted off her feet completely, the man hugging her tight as he stood up. She felt how his arms shook and heard how his breath hitched as he began to cry.

“ _El_ ,” he said, voice breaking.

It had been years since she’d heard his voice, but the single call of her name was enough. She wrapped her arms around him and smiled as she began to cry in turn.

“Hi Dima,” she whispered.

“Hi El,” he whispered back. He coughed a laugh. “Oh goddess, you didn’t get any taller.”

“I know.” She sniffed when he set her back on her feet, catching his face in her hands before he could straighten up. His eyes were still sky blue, and the anxiety was quickly leaving them. She held still when he touched her chin, meeting his gaze as he looked at her eyes.

“The same lilac I remember,” he said softly. “It’s really you, El.”

“It is. I promise.” She held him tight when he knelt down to hug her again. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you, too.” He tightened his grip for one moment more before letting go, and he dried his face as Edelgard dried hers. They turned to see Byleth and Berith smiling at them, and Edelgard laughed quietly.

“Dima,” she said, “this is my girlfriend Byleth and her brother Berith. Byleth, Berith, this is my little brother, Dimitri.”

Dimitri stood to his full height then, half a foot taller than the twins. His hunching had hidden his broad shoulders and fit physique, and Edelgard managed to see how flustered Berith was as Dimitri offered a hand to Byleth.

“Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd,” Dimitri said, smiling.

“Byleth Eisner,” she replied, shaking his hand. “No offense, I thought you’d be smaller with how petite El is.”

“I seem to have gotten it from my father,” he chuckled. He turned to Berith, not having seen him flustered, and offered his hand. “I’m glad to meet you both.”

“Berith Eisner, and likewise,” Berith said. He nodded at the table, saying, “The server went to get water and menus to give us some privacy, so let’s sit down.”

Dimitri nodded, turning toward the table. When he saw he’d knocked his chair over with how quickly he’d stood up, he blushed bright red. He cleared his throat, put his chair back up, and pulled out all the other chairs before sitting and trying to be small.

“It’s all right,” Edelgard said, touching his back before sitting on his right side. “I might’ve done the same thing if I were in your position.”

He let out a little laugh as Byleth and Berith sat down. “I can’t quite see that. You were always so proper when you visited.”

“Only because Mother would’ve slapped my legs for sitting the way I wanted,” she replied. “Byleth can tell you I sit terribly unless I’m working.”

“She’s usually in a ball,” Byleth said when Dimitri looked at her. “Especially now that it’s cold.”

“I’d be tempted to correct your posture if you hadn’t mentioned you sit properly when you work,” Dimitri said. “I have to do that with all my clients.”

Edelgard looked at him curiously, but the server returned then. They deliberated for only a short time before ordering, and Edelgard saw Dimitri take a deep breath to steady his hands before she did the same.

“I’m a personal trainer,” he said, taking a quick drink. “Mother and Father would’ve preferred that I go into business of some kind, but I’m not interested in that kind of stress.” He smiled and said, “I envy you, El. If I was half as brave as you, I might’ve kept up with my hobbies more.”

Her heart sank. “Do you not do _any_ of those hobbies now? You always made such lovely pieces, even when you were a kid.”

“Well,” he said hesitantly, “I put them down for…several years. I only picked them back up recently.” He smiled and said, “My best friend and his fiancée were quite supportive when they found out I enjoy things like knitting and needlepoint. It was a relief, honestly. Mercedes was willing to go out with Dedue and I to help pick yarn for a scarf.”

“I’m glad you have them, Dima,” Edelgard said, touching his hand. “When did you meet them? You never mentioned someone named Dedue when I visited.”

“I met him after your father passed,” he replied. “He’s a trainer himself—we got to know each other while I was…er. Recovering.”

“From what? Are you all right?”

He hesitated. Edelgard turned to face him, taking his hand in both of hers and holding tight.

“Dima,” she said gently, “I’m not our mother. You can tell me.”

Dimitri looked at their hands. He glanced at Byleth and Berith, who promptly nodded, stood, and moved away to give them privacy. He set his free hand on Edelgard’s and swallowed slowly.

“I was in the hospital when your father passed,” Dimitri said quietly. “I had been…involuntarily admitted. After several outbursts at home. The worst of which I don’t fully remember. I destroyed my phone and I didn’t have your number memorized, so when I was released…I didn’t know how to contact you. And—Mother and Father said you’d never want to speak to me when I was just a madman who breaks things, so—”

“Dimitri.”

He flinched.

“Look at me?”

He did.

“Whatever they told you about how _I_ would feel is completely false,” Edelgard said. “If I had known you were struggling, I would’ve come to you. Even if it meant dealing with our mother.” She squeezed his hand. “You are my one and only brother, Dima. My _little_ brother. I don’t want to lose you again.”

Dimitri smiled shakily, looking down. Quietly, he said, “I must admit I didn’t sleep very well last night due to being worried about telling you this.”

“I haven’t slept very well _this week_ because I was worried Mother was manipulating you in some way,” Edelgard said, “so you’re not alone in being nervous. Or paranoid, in my case.”

“I’m glad I’m not alone in that,” he chuckled. He looked at the twins, waiting until he had their attention before nodding. Once they were back in their seats, he said, “Thank you for giving us just a moment. I promise to keep the mood light.”

“Unlike Mother,” Edelgard said coolly, making Byleth choke on her water.

“We actually haven’t spoken in two years now,” Dimitri said, laughing. “We were on shaky ground already with my career choice and health issues, but my coming out was the last straw for her and my father.”

Byleth and Berith stared at him, but Edelgard giggled. She said, “So this means both of her children are gay.”

“It does,” Dimitri said, and he laughed again. “I hadn’t thought of that. She would be furious if she heard you were gay, too.”

“Good,” Edelgard said simply, and it made the twins break down in giggles.

“All right, enough about her,” Dimitri chuckled. “Byleth, Berith, tell me about you. How did you meet El?”

“El literally ran into me at a park near here about four months ago,” Byleth said. “I was wearing my weird—”

“Unique,” Edelgard said.

“ _Unique_ coat,” Byleth laughed. “It caught her eye and we went to go have coffee so she could have a better look at it. Luckily for me, she flirted with me way more than I was expecting, and we’ve been dating since.”

“And you, Berith?” Dimitri asked.

“Mine’s not that interesting,” Berith said with a chuckle. “Byleth is the only one of our family who lives here, so I met Edelgard when I came down for our monthly visits. She put up with me gushing over her art after lunch, fortunately.”

“I think compliments are always valuable,” Dimitri said. “So thank you for supporting El.”

“I’m glad to,” Berith said. Smirking, he jabbed a thumb at Byleth and said, “By-By’s even happier to do that. They were quite cuddly when Edelgard came to visit recently. It was cute.”

“El was always very cute when she visited,” Dimitri said, his smile growing bright. “Ionius had a habit of making her dress well when she came, so some of my favorite memories are of her appearing in the morning wearing a cute jumper with red tights.”

He laughed and nudged Edelgard’s shoulder. “But you were always so imposing! Even when I started growing taller than you!”

“I think you have me beat for imposing now,” Edelgard said. “You grew taller than I ever expected. And you look like you could easily hold your own in a fight.”

“I hope it never comes to that,” Dimitri said. “I’ve never trained extensively for self defense—the idea of fighting terrifies me. It’s more that exercise helps me stay stable and…feel at least a little attractive.”

“A _little_?” Berith said abruptly. “Who on earth convinced you that you’re only _a little_ attractive?”

Dimitri looked at Berith with raised brows and a blush rising on his face. He eventually said, “My—parents. When I came out. I’m—well—I’m doing what I can to try to undo that line of thinking. So…thank you for the compliment.”

“You’re welcome,” Berith said, nodding to him.

Dimitri’s blush worsened as he looked down and quietly added, “It’s very nice to hear that from a handsome man, so thank you very much.”

Byleth and Edelgard looked at each other as Berith went red, keeping their smiles small and polite. Before any of them could speak up, the server came back with their breadsticks and pizza. Dimitri and Berith began eating first to regain their composure, and Edelgard savored the warm food and the long conversations that followed when everyone had found their voices again.

————

As easily as he had vanished, Dimitri became part of Edelgard’s life again. At first, their texts were simple and safe, Edelgard sending works in progress to make him smile and Dimitri sending back updates on the scarf he was struggling through. When she caught sight of pill bottles in the photos, Edelgard said nothing and did not press. Only when they began to have regular phone calls on Thursdays did she ask, and only because Dimitri brought it up first.

He had asked, late that second Thursday afternoon, if it was all real. When she had promised it was, he had been silent for a long time. Edelgard could hear him tapping on a table, the scrape of chair legs as he stood up, and the dull sounds of his feet on the floor as he paced. Eventually, he had sighed very quietly and very sadly.

“ _Can I explain?_ ” he asked.

“Of course,” she said.

Dimitri told her, sometimes haltingly and sometimes rushing through his words, what had happened when he disappeared. It had started with depression, but it swung hard in the other direction when he simply stopped sleeping. Hallucinations and voices in his head came alongside rage so intense he would black out and lose all memory of what he’d said and done. A hospitalization had come after an outburst where he’d destroyed his phone and most other electronics in his bedroom in an attempt to quiet the voices, and it was during his inpatient stay that he was given a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.

“ _I’ve had highs and lows since,_ ” he said, “ _but never a full relapse to that kind of episode. Even the idea of relapsing is terrifying. And this incredible good luck to have found you again…part of me is convinced that it’s a hallucination. I don’t mean to question **you** , I just…have to get around my own mind._”

“I don’t blame you for that,” Edelgard said. “If I had an illness that deceived me like that, I would try to get around it.” She considered her words, and after a time said, “I won’t pretend that I know or fully understand what you’ve gone through or what you face day to day with this illness. I don’t want to reduce it to something I pretend I understand while pushing it to the side.

“The last thing I want to do is treat you like an invalid who can’t manage his own life,” she said. “It’s unfair to you, and I have faith in you, Dima. But I want to make sure you know you can come to me for help and support whenever you need it. If that makes sense.”

He laughed then, a soft and gentle tune that gave her waves of deep azure blue. “ _The fact that you refuse to treat me like…some monstrous, incapable child…makes me feel much better, El. Thank you. And I promise to ask for help when I need it._ ”

It finally let Dimitri relax, his texts losing some of their formality and his calls sounding at ease. Edelgard smiled at all of it, and it helped alleviate the stress of discussing the pros and cons of building a house in Garreg Mach with Byleth while simultaneously coordinating moving her into the apartment by the end of January. Though the sparse furnishing in her apartment would allow them to bring over many of the large pieces of Byleth’s furniture and the rest of her belongings, the primary issue was how to move all of it.

“We can hire movers,” Edelgard said one Saturday morning early in the month. She tapped her pen on the notepad of their ongoing pros and cons discussion, looking at how many more tics there were under the pros heading. “Though I’m not sure if we can get them to take away what we’re getting rid of.”

“I’m not sure either,” Byleth said. “I’ve been researching movers for now and the summer, but nothing’s coming up. The other option is getting Dad and Berith to come down to help and selling things to that secondhand shop in the city. Or Dimitri, if we could ask him so we can give Dad a break.”

“I think we could,” Edelgard said, picking up her phone. “Let me check with him.” She sent a text along, waiting only a minute or two before a reply came. “He says he can help if it’s next weekend or the weekend after, he would just appreciate a meal, gas money, and a spot to sleep if the move takes too long.” Her phone chimed in her hand. “And he hopes that overlaps with Berith’s availability to make it easier on everyone.”

“It should,” Byleth said, picking up her phone to send a text. “Hopefully I catch him before he goes on the mountain.” She waited for a few minutes longer, giving Edelgard a hand to hold as time passed. When her phone buzzed, she looked at it again. “Next weekend is good for him, and he wants the same for payment. That’s a relief.”

“It is,” Edelgard said, sending a text to Dimitri. “But if they need more of a payment, I can handle that.”

Byleth smiled, setting her phone down and lifting Edelgard’s hand to kiss her palm. She looked at the notepad, slowly and softly tapping the tics under the pros. Taking a deep breath, she asked, “What do you think, El?”

Edelgard smiled back and set her phone down to take hold of her pen again. She drew a star under the pros heading and said, “I think we need to ask Berith to introduce us to the architect he worked with.”

The way Byleth’s eyes lit up was something like fireworks, and Edelgard stood up to kiss her sweetly. They spent most of the week’s evenings bringing smaller things over from Byleth’s apartment, sorting what to keep and what to throw away. They were rich with preparedness when Saturday arrived and brought with it Berith and Dimitri late in the morning.

“I’m glad the weather is much better from my last visit,” Dimitri said as he and Berith put their backpacks on the dining table. “I’d hate to figure out how to secure a tarp over the bed of my truck in a storm like that.”

“No kidding,” Berith said. “And the three trucks between you, me, and Byleth should be more than enough. Thanks for the help.”

“Of course,” Dimitri replied. “I’m happy to assist, and it’s nice to see you and Byleth again.”

“Likewise,” Berith said, and he nudged Dimitri’s side before he headed out of the apartment.

Edelgard saw how Dimitri hesitated, and she saw Byleth looking after Berith with a raised brow. They looked at each other and said nothing at all as Dimitri followed Berith’s lead. The drive to Byleth’s apartment was a quiet one, Edelgard asking, “Has Berith been talking about Dima?”

“Not to me,” Byleth said, checking her rear view mirror to make sure Dimitri’s truck was still in view behind them. “I don’t remember them trading numbers when we all met, so maybe they’re just being shy.”

“Berith doesn’t tease people, does he?”

“No, just me. He’ll be nice to Dimitri, I promise.”

Edelgard nodded, relief coming to her when the mood was immediately lifted by Berith’s infectious cheer as they got to work. The tasks were divided as evenly as possible, Edelgard to take the last boxes of loose items to Byleth’s truck as the twins and Dimitri worked out which truck would take things to save and which would take things to sell off.

Though their quick organization was something that made Edelgard smile, what shocked her, Byleth, and Berith was Dimitri’s wildly deceptive strength. At one point, he started to pick up the couch by himself, looking as though it was as easy as lifting a chair. Berith scrambled to stop him, to assist by taking hold of one end of the couch.

“No, let me help,” Berith said. “Don’t hurt yourself.”

Dimitri looked at him, ghosts of confusion in his eyes. He nodded and moved to take the other end of the couch, the two of them carrying it out of the apartment. Byleth gave Edelgard a curious look, but Edelgard shook her head.

“I’d say I don’t think he’s used to having help,” she said, picking up a box, “but picking up _a couch_ is a bit much.”

“At least Berith stopped him,” Byleth chuckled, picking up a box of her own.

They settled into a rhythm of going up and down stairs, arranging boxes and furniture in the three trucks. Despite the chilly weather, all of them took off their jackets and rolled up their sleeves before too long. All the work Byleth and Edelgard had done during the week did not prevent them from taking until the afternoon to get everything loaded into the trucks. It took less time to bring things into Edelgard’s apartment, but by the time Byleth, Berith, and Dimitri finally returned from selling things to the one secondhand shop halfway across Enbarr, the sun had set.

“Ow,” Byleth groaned as she gingerly sat on the couch they’d brought in. “Thank you both for the help.”

“You’re hiring movers when you come to Garreg Mach,” Berith said, falling down beside her. “Moving couches is awful, and now you have two of them. Not making Dad do this.”

“Garreg Mach?” Dimitri asked, sitting down with Edelgard on the other couch.

“It’s where Byleth’s family lives,” Edelgard said. “She and I will be moving up there some time in the summer.”

“Where is Garreg Mach?” he asked. “On a map, I mean.”

“I have a search open on my laptop, wait a moment.” She fetched her laptop from the bedroom, rearranging her open browser tabs before handing it to him. Seeing he still tilted his head slightly as he looked at something new made her smile, and she peeked around his shoulder as he manipulated the map.

“Oh—wow, that’s quite a drive to come _here_ ,” he said, tracing a line down the highway. “It’s not that far from Arianrhod, relatively speaking, but now I see why visits are only once a month. What’s up there for the two of you?”

“A teaching position at the academy there,” Byleth said. “My application’s going forward and El’s lease runs out in May, so no time like the present.”

“And I’m going to be somewhere I like much more than Enbarr,” Edelgard said. “How far is Garreg Mach from Arianrhod?”

“Only about seventy miles,” Dimitri said, tracing another line. “What is it like up there?”

“Wonderfully quiet. And very snowy.”

“I have some great pictures from work this week,” Berith said, peeling himself off the couch. He sat on the arm of the couch next to Dimitri and showed him pictures of the snowy trees and mountain vista from the trails, as well as a view of the town far below.

“Is that the entire town?” Dimitri asked.

“It is,” Berith said. “But I try to not include houses in my pictures, so all you see in that one is the couple of little apartment buildings in town.”

Dimitri squinted, and then pointed. “Those?”

“Yep.”

“We’ve vetoed those locations,” Edelgard said when Dimitri looked at her. “We’re looking at houses. Building one.”

“ _Really_?”

“Our family owns enough land for it,” Berith said, going through his saved photos. “I’m building a place for myself—this is my blueprint.”

“I have to admit I’m envious of you all for something like homeownership,” Dimitri said, smiling as Berith handed him his phone. He expanded the picture to take in the details, nodding in admiration.

“The architect Berith worked with finally comes back from vacation on Monday,” Byleth said. “Now we just need some good luck with permits and construction in terms of timing.”

“Is it cooler in the summer there?” Dimitri asked.

“Much cooler than Enbarr,” she replied. “I’m looking forward to paying _less_ to cool a house in the summer than trying to cool off my apartment.”

“The trails around the houses are wonderful, so I’m looking forward to that.”

“Trail running would be fun,” Dimitri said, offhanded and quiet. He went to flick to another picture, but froze before he could. Blushing faintly, he offered Berith his phone back and said, “I apologize, I shouldn’t browse.”

“It’s okay,” Berith laughed. “Here, I’ve got an album just of trail photos.” He went through his photos to open an album, handing his phone back. “Trail photos are nice.”

“They really are.”

Edelgard smiled and ruffled Dimitri’s hair as she stood up. “All right, I’ll pick up food so you three can rest. Give me your orders for pizza.”

They did, all of them ordering heartily after the work and against the encroaching cold of night. Edelgard left as the three of them fully settled on the couches, Dimitri and Berith showing each other pictures as Byleth struggled not to sleep. They were in almost the same positions when she returned, but all of them perked up at the smell of the pizza. They ate at the couches, Byleth and Edelgard on one couch and Berith and Dimitri on the other.

Byleth eventually started playing music on her phone, the same jazz as the long drive to Garreg Mach. Edelgard smiled and relaxed, leaning against her as warmth settled over the apartment. She smiled to have them all there, all in her life. She chuckled when Byleth nuzzled against her hair, reaching up to scratch the back of her neck.

The food gave them just enough energy to turn on the TV to stream something. Berith and Dimitri had an instant rapport, giving such witty commentary for the show that Byleth and Edelgard were left giggling again and again. When night fell fully and they all began to nod off, Edelgard stood first and roused the others long enough to get ready for bed.

Sleeping was easy, Edelgard free from nightmares and Byleth dropping into a deep sleep after the long day. Berith and Dimitri, too, were well rested when the morning came, and Edelgard overheard them as they quietly and shyly discussed trading phone numbers while she and Byleth made breakfast.

“You’re not asking us to help unpack those boxes, right?” Byleth asked, smiling, as they began to eat.

“No, no,” Byleth said. “We can do that on our own.”

“We really appreciate the help,” Edelgard said. “Thank you, both.”

“I’m glad to spend more time with all of you,” Dimitri said. “And I’d be glad to visit again, whether that’s here or Garreg Mach.”

“You have to visit just to go on trails,” Berith said. “It’ll be really nice in the spring.”

Dimitri smiled at him, and Edelgard could have hugged them both. She took the opportunity when they left, holding tight and laughing when Dimitri lifted her off her feet again.

“Love you, El,” he whispered.

“Love you, Dima,” she whispered back.

He and Berith left soon after, waving and taking most of the noise and sound with them. Edelgard stood with Byleth in the quiet, holding her hand.

“Do you mind if I get back in my sweatpants?” Byleth asked with a sheepish smile. “I really want to let my tail loose.”

Edelgard laughed. “I wanted to get back in my sleeping clothes, so by all means.”

Byleth grinned and kissed her cheek, leading the way to the bedroom. She put her sweatpants on straight away, letting them slip in the back to let her tail loose as her ears appeared on her head. Edelgard changed as well, luxuriating in the familiar warmth of Byleth’s screen printed hoodie. When she looked at Byleth, she saw she was standing looking at the bed as her tail wagged.

“Our bed now,” Byleth murmured.

Edelgard took her hand gently. When Byleth looked at her, she said, “Can we stay in bed for a while?”

“Of course,” Byleth said, and she gladly got into bed. She watched Edelgard pull the curtains open to let the rare winter sunlight in, and Edelgard got in bed and lay on her side to face her. For a time, they did not touch. Byleth’s tail moved over the sheets; Edelgard breathed slowly. The first to reach out was Edelgard, and she put a hand on Byleth’s cheek.

“Does it feel like home?” Edelgard asked. “Here with me?” She smiled. “Even though it’s not a house?”

Byleth chuckled. “It really does. Thank you for letting me in, El.”

Words came to her, but they sat stubbornly on her tongue. She pushed Byleth onto her back and gently sat on her hips. For a long, long while, she simply looked at Byleth. Part of her wanted to look away. She put a hand on Byleth’s chest over her heart.

“Byleth,” she said, “I love you.”

Byleth was silent, eyes widening.

“I’ve wanted to tell you for a while. I just felt—now was the _right_ time. Because now we’re both _home_.”

In an instant, Byleth pulled her down to hold her close. Edelgard heard her laugh faintly. When Byleth rolled them over, she began to giggle as well. She laughed outright when Byleth nuzzled against her neck, peppering it with kisses and little bites.

“I love you too,” Byleth whispered in her ear. “I love you so much, El.”

Edelgard held her still then, hiding her face against her shoulder. She breathed in, letting all the lingering tension in her drawn away as she exhaled. When she moved again, it was to kiss Byleth’s neck, her shoulder, her cheek, and finally her lips. Byleth giggled against her lips, making her laugh as she pulled away.

“What?” Edelgard asked, reaching up to play with Byleth’s ears.

“It feels different if you smile when you kiss me,” Byleth replied. She tucked hair behind Edelgard’s ear, hand lingering as she ran her fingers down her neck. “You’re so pretty, El.”

Edelgard brought her down for a kiss, soft and sweet at first. Byleth touched her chin to make her open her mouth and the sweetness faded away for heat. Still they were soft, were slow, gentle movements to push clothes just enough out of the way for touch. The extra warmth of Byleth’s hands under her hoodie and shirt made Edelgard curl her toes in the sheets and smile. Byleth toyed with her breasts, rolling her nipples between her fingers until they hardened and humming a quiet song.

“Is it silly to imagine how nice sex might be at our house when it’s done?” Edelgard asked.

“I don’t think so.” She smiled as she leaned down and pushed Edelgard’s hoodie and shirt up to expose her stomach. “What’re you thinking about?”

“How I want to hear you more.” As Byleth began to kiss her stomach, she put her hands in her hair. “It always sounds like you’re struggling to stay quiet.”

“I am,” Byleth said. “It’s not that I’m going to start yelling, but…El, when I’m in you I really want to say the filthiest things and I don’t want the neighbors to hear.”

“I’d love to hear a little of that now, then,” Edelgard murmured. She inhaled deeply when Byleth pushed her clothes higher to kiss her breasts. She lifted a hand, reaching, and smiled when Byleth took her hand to hold it to the bed.

Still it was gentle, but still there was heat when Byleth took one nipple into her mouth. She sucked lazily, humming again to make Edelgard’s nerves sing. Her free hand moved down along Edelgard’s side and to her hip. Her fingers curved down and back until she cupped Edelgard’s ass and squeezed.

It made Edelgard aware of how wet she was already. She pulled Byleth up for a kiss and to get her nestled between her legs. Byleth was as hard as she was wet, grinding against her at once. She looked at Edelgard adoringly, brushing her hair out of her face.

“Can I tell you what I’ve been thinking about?” Byleth asked. “For when we’re home at Garreg Mach?”

“Of course.”

“I want to,” Byleth said haltingly, “be— _in_ you. Without a condom on. I know it’s stupid and risky even if it’s harder for a wolf to get a human pregnant, but—I’d like to. Eventually.”

Edelgard went bright red. She looked away as she though. Glancing at Byleth, she asked, “How _much_ harder is it for wolves to get humans pregnant?”

“By—some factor like ten to one.” She cleared her throat. “I called Flayn to ask about it.”

“You did?”

“I wanted to make sure I wasn’t doing something risky,” Byleth said. “I got worried that it might be _easier_ for me to get you pregnant and that maybe we needed to do something else to be safer.”

Edelgard started to giggle. “So you actually called your doctor in Garreg Mach to have what was probably a _very_ awkward conversation.”

“Yeah.”

She laughed outright, pulling Byleth down to kiss her cheeks. She kissed her nose and said, “You are a terribly sweet and silly woman, Byleth. Today is fine.”

It took a moment for Byleth to process her words, holding still as she did. Her cheeks went red as she asked, “Are you sure?”

“I’ve been—curious,” Edelgard admitted, her blush returning. “And if it’s harder for you to get me pregnant, then…I would like to see how it feels without a condom.”

Byleth’s ears perked up, pupils dilating. “ _Really_?”

She nodded. “And—well. Let—let me roll over.”

Byleth’s tail stood straight up as her brows rose, and Edelgard began to laugh even harder than before. She put her hands on Byleth’s ears, still laughing, and said, “Put these away.”

“Sorry,” Byleth said, shaking herself slightly to put her ears and tail away. “But—you’re really sure?”

“I am.” She pulled Byleth down for a kiss. “I’d like to see how it feels, so today is fine.” She turned onto her side, hips angled, and added, “And I like how you top me from behind, so let me roll over.”

Byleth grinned. “I don’t love you _more_ for this, but goddess do I love you.”

“I love you too, Byleth,” Edelgard chuckled. She settled on her stomach as Byleth went to get the lube, hiding her face in the cool sheets to try to soothe her blush. The way Byleth only took her sleeping pants off made her giggle; glancing back to see Byleth had done the same with her sweatpants made her giggle harder.

“We start off so slow but we’re still not getting completely undressed,” she said. She moaned softly when Byleth pushed two fingers into her, the sound of her own wetness mingled with the lube making her jump.

“I don’t want to wait,” Byleth said. “And I don’t want to let you get cold.”

As she rocked her fingers in and out, spreading them to stretch Edelgard, she reached back with her free hand to tug the top sheet up and over their legs and hips. She took in the scent of Edelgard’s wetness, her sweat, and admired how she gripped the sheets. When she whimpered, all of Byleth twitched. She rumbled low in her chest and got more lube on her hand to slick over her cock. Edelgard opened her legs when Byleth touched them.

“Please,” Edelgard murmured.

Byleth exhaled shakily and lined herself up to push into Edelgard in one steady thrust. Edelgard gasped, hips arching up as Byleth pressed her into the mattress. A grin on her face, Byleth leaned down to nibble on Edelgard’s neck.

“You’re _so_ tight,” Byleth rumbled in her ear. She drew back and bucked her hips in a sharp thrust. The way Edelgard moaned made her exhale a laugh. “And so much hotter without a condom.” She tilted Edelgard’s head to one side to bite her shoulder and held on as she thrust again.

“Fuck— _Byleth_!” Edelgard gasped. She hid her face in the sheets as Byleth began to move in a rough rhythm. Her exhale was shaky as she smiled, pleasure starting to boil in her. Again and again, she called Byleth’s name, sometimes muffled and sometimes aloud for Byleth to hear. Byleth’s voice was a sparking rush of red, of gold, spiking with every thrust.

Edelgard reached out; Byleth gave her a hand to cling to. Byleth pushed herself up to deepen her strokes, burying herself completely to make Edelgard whimper. She ground against her, swaying her hips and stoking the ever growing heat between them.

“El,” Byleth panted, thrusting harder. “You’re so— _good_. I could spend an _hour_ in you, just loving you.” She laughed weakly, bowing her head to kiss Edelgard’s shoulder. “But— _fuck_ —I don’t know how long I can last when you keep _clenching_.”

“I have to tease you _a little_ ,” Edelgard said, voice faint as pleasure spread up every nerve. She waited for Byleth to push in deep before clenching again, moaning because Byleth kissed her neck.

“Goddess,” Byleth whispered, going still to savor all of it. She ran her free hand up Edelgard’s back and under her shirt. “I have to slow down—a little. I don’t want to come yet…you feel so good.”

Edelgard turned to look at her, smiling hazily. “Well…I’m already close, so whenever you want to, okay?” She slipped her free hand between her legs to play with her clit. “ _Please_.”

Byleth rumbled low in her chest once more, leaned down to kiss Edelgard’s cheek, and began to fuck her in wild earnest. Edelgard moaned, groaned, rubbed hard at her clit to match Byleth’s speed. They both lost track of time, the world burned down to motion and pleasure as they kept close.

“Oh goddess,” Edelgard whispered. “Oh—oh, _Byleth_ —”

Byleth’s hips moved frantically, wordless and adoring noise spilling out of her mouth. She thrust again, again, barely reaching five more thrusts before her muscles seized. She came, fully buried in Edelgard, and swore behind her teeth. The sensation and her fingers on her clit pushed Edelgard over the edge, and she squeezed her hand tight as she took everything she gave.

They were an absolute mess, wet and aching. Byleth stayed in Edelgard, both of them catching their breath. Though she moved to pull out, Edelgard kept her close.

“That’s not bad,” Edelgard murmured. “All of you like this.”

“I might need a nap,” Byleth mumbled, nuzzling her hair. “That was _great_.”

“A nap sounds wonderful,” Edelgard said, turning to kiss her cheek. “But we should clean up.”

Byleth hummed and finally drew out slowly. She led Edelgard to the bathroom, the two of them taking a shower and sharing lazy kisses as they cleaned up. They returned to bed, warm and dry, and fell asleep sated and wrapped in each other’s arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was actually in a bit of a rush to get this chapter done, since I started a new job on 12/7! I may need to take a minor break to recharge on this, since that was about two months of nose to the grindstone work on this and my brain's blanking on where to go next (plus my hand's messed up again). But writing's like breathing, so I'll be back on my nonsense soon enough.
> 
> (Please do not ask me if I'm going to continue or when a chapter will be done. I hate that.)
> 
> As always, catch me [on twitter](https://twitter.com/shinjishazaki) for updates, previews or thread fics, other nonsense, and a pinned tweet on how to get in on "request" fics!


	5. The Names of Her Wounds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The prospect of having a home of their own design is more than enough to make Byleth and Edelgard excited, more than eager to work with the architect and construction company Berith hired for his home. The prospect of making a withdrawal from her inheritance savings, however, puts Edelgard on constant edge. Despite what comes out of the shadows to dog at Edelgard’s heels, Byleth stays at her side.
> 
> With a better family found, they look forward to summer and the completion of their home.

It took two weeks for Edelgard to realize how much she’d missed living with someone she loved. The reality of Byleth moving in hadn’t settled on her until then, a soft weight on her shoulders when she saw Byleth doing laundry. It made her keenly aware of Byleth at every turn, the sound of her voice and her laugh soothing as she tutored people online. She did not ache or long for her when she went out for substitute work, but when Byleth came home it made the world better in a way she could put neither to words nor to art.

Because of it, she gladly took charge of managing their appointments and work with the architect. He was an older wolf by the name of Macuil, a relative of Seteth’s. Though he could not hide some awkwardness over working with a human at first, everything shifted during their third video meeting with him on a Monday. He looked at another screen as they looked at printouts, and they could hear him tapping his desk as he thought.

“ _These are all just rough layouts based on past designs of mine,_ ” he said. “ _To be honest, I focused a bit more on designs similar to the cozier homes in Garreg Mach. But…Miss Hresvelg, you were quite adamant about the fourth design. About expanding it._ ”

Edelgard took Byleth’s hand, squeezing gently as she nodded. Byleth nodded back, turned to the laptop, and said, “We want something bigger. The fourth design had all the features we want.”

“ _Double pane glass throughout, large kitchen and bathrooms, central heating and air, yes,_ ” Macuil said. “ _Always easier in larger homes._ ” He thought. “ _But not with contemporary styling? Most people who live in the larger cities tend to want to bring that with them._ ”

“We both really liked the warmer sensibility like what you designed for Berith’s house,” Edelgard said. “Lighter woods and paint colors. And not much stone or metal outside some accents.”

He thought further. “ _All right. Your last note says you would like me to do a bit of design work for two rooms in particular. A studio for Miss Hresvelg and an office-slash-library for Miss Eisner. I’m very glad to, especially if I’m allowed to work with warmer materials, but I will be frank. Custom work like this in this area costs quite a lot of money. Especially my work, if you want me to be thorough. Are you all right with that?_ ”

“We want to live somewhere where we’ll never be unhappy to go home,” Edelgard said. “Money isn’t an issue.”

“ _I see,_ ” Macuil said. After a moment, he gave her an approving nod. “ _Then I will work to make a home that meets these standards. And one more question, if I could._ ”

“Of course.”

“ _Do you want rooms designed for children?_ ”

Edelgard, out of his sight, set a hand low on her abdomen and thought of the odd mix of regret and relief she’d felt when her period had started the night before. She looked at Byleth and nodded so slightly that it would not be caught by the camera or its lag.

“Yes,” Byleth said. “Please.”

“ _Of course,_ ” Macuil said. “ _I know time is of the essence for this build, so please let me get to work on the scope and size so you can apply for permits. I’ll do all that I can to make sure the construction crew can get estimates to you right away._ ”

“Thank you,” Edelgard said. “We’ll review everything as soon as we hear from you.”

“ _Wonderful. I look forward to working with you._ ”

“Likewise,” said Byleth. “Until then, sir.” She ended the call, a heavy quiet settling on their bedroom. Edelgard leaned against her, curling up as a cramp slowly bound her. Byleth, in turn, lifted her into her lap.

“We’re really, really doing it,” Byleth murmured. “I’ve wanted a house for so long—and it’s…we’re making it so special.” She swallowed slowly. “Can we really do this? It’s so expensive to build a house.”

“We can. I promise.” She saw how Byleth hesitated, felt how she stiffened. She kissed her throat and said, “I have appointments with a lawyer and my financial advisor next Thursday. Can you come with?”

“Absolutely.” She kissed Edelgard’s hair and murmured, “Absolutely.”

————

It had been years since Edelgard had gone to the Vestra law firm, but it had barely changed. Utilitarian to an extreme degree, the walls were painted with neutral shades and the few decorative plants were plastic. Still, the temperature was kept high enough that she and Byleth took their coats off when they arrived. They had barely thought to sit down in the waiting room before a door opened in the distance and footsteps approached down a hallway.

The man who appeared was as tall as Dimitri, but far more imposing despite his slimmer build. His solid black outfit, from slacks to sweater, did not help him look more welcoming, and he regarded Byleth coolly before looking at Edelgard and smiling genuinely.

“Miss Edelgard,” he said, putting a hand over his heart and bowing slightly. “A pleasure to see you.”

“And you as well, Hubert,” Edelgard said. “I wasn’t sure if I’d see you or your father today.”

“He’s taking one of his rare holidays.” He looked at Byleth from the corner of his eye. When she looked at him with a raised brow, he chuckled.

“Hubert,” said Edelgard, “this is Byleth Eisner. Byleth, Hubert Vestra.”

“Ah, the other interested party,” Hubert said. “Shall we get started, then?”

They nodded, and he led them down the hallway to his office. It was warmly lit, the temperature cozy, and he gestured to the two chairs in front of his desk. Byleth did not sit down, eyes drawn to a painting hung on one wall. It was of two men, one cast more in shadows and darker colors and other awash in light and vibrancy. They sat together in a garden, hands gently and tenderly entwined.

“It’s one of mine,” Edelgard said. “Hubert’s husband Ferdinand commissioned it for their first anniversary.”

“Who only knew to commission you because he would not leave Bernadetta be when it came to someone to commission,” Hubert chuckled.

“Bernadetta?” Byleth asked.

“A friend from art school,” Edelgard said. “The fact that we became friends at all despite my paranoia and her severe anxiety is a bit of a miracle.”

“Ferdinand has known Bernadetta since childhood,” Hubert said. “Their fathers know each other and they put them together at every opportunity. Fortunately, Ferdinand’s rather knightly behavior kept Bernadetta from constantly panicking and helped her make friends with others over time.”

“I was very surprised when I found out where that painting had gone when I came here the last time,” Edelgard said. “Though it _was_ nice to talk to Hubert about something other than family business for once.” She touched Byleth’s side, nodding toward the chairs. They all sat down, Hubert picking up one folder from the top of a stack. He opened it to read through a document.

“I know you’ll be speaking to your financial advisor for the logistics and fees of a major withdrawal,” he said, “but legally you are allowed to access your inheritance at any time for any reason.”

“Even for the purposes of building a house that someone will live in with me?”

“ _Any_ reason,” Hubert said. “I’ve been through your father’s will repeatedly. All terms say that your inheritance is yours to use at your discretion, whether that is with or for a significant other or any other family member, or even a personal friend. The only limitation you’ll face is how to handle a major withdrawal from whatever accounts you’ve placed the inheritance in. That is up to the financial institution’s rules and regulations, and your advisor will know more about any laws or taxes that may be associated with this kind of withdrawal.”

“And what about the rest of my family and their reaction to me using the money?” Edelgard asked.

“It becomes slightly more complicated,” he replied. “While your father’s will stipulated that you are his sole heir and that no one else had a right to any portion of your inheritance, now that all the money has passed into your control, the legal protection the will offered is less clear. To put it simply, there is nothing that will prevent your family from coming to you with complaints if they learn you’re doing something.”

Edelgard sighed faintly, closing her hands into fists on her thighs. She said, “I trust my advisor to be extremely discrete when it comes to my business, but…it’s so hard to tell what will happen after we see him today.”

“What do you mean?” Byleth asked.

“The last time I took money out of my inheritance was when my last car broke down after a crash two years ago. I needed a new car, but the only way I could manage that on top of my hospital bills was by making a withdrawal. My uncle found out somehow, and he made it a point to visit me in the hospital when I was getting physical therapy for a broken foot.”

“All to bother you about money.”

“Yes.”

“While your foot was broken.”

“Yes.”

Byleth took a deep breath and let it out slowly, the sigh dipping into a low, faint growl. She muttered, “I hate him.”

“We are agreed on that,” Hubert said. “I was interning here when my father went into Ionius’ employ and the amount of _slime_ that man is covered in is disgusting. But…yes. He may find out.”

“Of course,” Edelgard said.

“A simple answer is to issue a restraining order. I can begin the process if you’d like.”

“I would,” Edelgard said. “Could—you also start one for Byleth?”

“Of course.” He glanced at the clock on one wall. “When is your appointment with your advisor?”

“In about two hours.”

“All right. Let’s get started, then.”

They spent the next forty minutes going over details to set up restraining orders, and before they left Edelgard took a moment to look at the painting and recall the music she’d listened to while working on it. It had given her shades of deep green laced with winding patterns of blue. Though it was a soft memory, it gave her strength. She and Byleth thanked Hubert before leaving, and they went to the nearest restaurant for lunch.

The server led them to a tucked away booth, taking orders for pasta dishes and bringing a basket of garlic bread for the interim. As they sat there together, Edelgard watched Byleth and kept a hand on her leg. When Byleth smiled and held a piece of bread up in an offer, she smiled back and opened her mouth dutifully. She chuckled as Byleth fed her, leaning against her while she chewed.

“El,” Byleth said quietly, “can I ask what the problem is with your family? Is it all just about money?”

“It’s mostly money,” Edelgard said. “But in the end it’s all about my father.” She inhaled, held her breath, and sighed. “It was impossible for me to see growing up, but Papa was…a man with too much power and too much money. He would buy nights with women, then buy their silence and to break ties with them and any children they had. He married a few times, but it never lasted.

“Something was different about my mother for him,” she said. “He actually seemed to love her. He said he’d never been as excited as when my mother said she was pregnant with me. But she either never really loved him or fell out of love with him when I was born. She left when I was about a year old, but he did what he could to keep us in contact.”

“Do you think it had to do with post partum?” Byleth asked.

“Maybe. She’s always made it sound like it was about my father, at least when she wasn’t trying to guilt me into giving her money. But when all my half siblings and their mothers heard my father _wasn’t_ getting through chemo, they came out of the woodwork. They bothered me constantly, even at university. I changed my phone number and email to use the personal and business ones none of them knew. And when my father died, I tried to disappear like he told me to.”

“Except your uncle found you,” Byleth said quietly.

“He did. He’s my mother’s brother and he hates me and my father. He doesn’t harass me too much, but what he does is—unnerving. I don’t know _how_ he tracks me down, and he _feels_ dangerous after he made it clear he hates me. Even if he doesn’t threaten me outright. I’m glad Hubert is working on a restraining order.”

“El,” Byleth said, “you know I’ll help keep you safe, right? Some bastard human doesn’t scare me when I stare down bears.”

“I know,” Edelgard murmured. “Thank you.”

Byleth kissed her head as the server returned with their orders. They ate quickly, keeping an eye on the time for their next appointment. Downtown was their destination, into one of the largest buildings in the city, and up to the sixteenth floor. Edelgard felt Byleth hesitate as men and women dressed in tidy, professional clothes gave them curious, unpleasant looks, and squeezed her hand gently. She frowned at one red-haired woman who leered at them too long, sighing at how her expression quickly changed to a sickly sweet smile as they passed.

“It’s all right,” she said, leading her to an office. “My advisor won’t care how we’re dressed given _his_ style.”

“That’s a little less reassuring than I think you meant it to be,” Byleth said with a small smile. Still, she followed Edelgard to a closed door, waiting until a man called them in after Edelgard had knocked.

“Punctual to the minute as always, Miss Hresvelg!” the man behind the desk laughed, taking to his feet. He came around his desk, showing his broad frame, soft gold sweater-vest over a dress shirt, and puffing his chest a bit to display a messily decorated tie. Edelgard smiled, resisting the urge to laugh when she saw the baffled look on Byleth’s face, and took the hand the man offered.

“I never want to take up too much of your time, Mister Ragneld,” she said. “You’re always so busy.”

“Such is the life of a hard working man!” he said. He turned to Byleth then, offering his hand, and said, “Miss Hresvelg mentioned she’d be bringing her significant other. Alois Ragneld, financial advisor at your service.”

“Byleth Eisner,” she replied, shaking his hand.

“Very good to meet you,” he said. “Please, take a seat. Miss Hresvelg, let me get your files pulled up.”

They sat down, Edelgard patting Byleth’s leg while Alois worked on his computer. After a moment, Edelgard asked, “Is that a new tie from your daughter?”

“Indeed it is!” he said, puffing his chest out further. “She’s getting more and more talented every year!”

“The color balance is very good on this one. I hope you let her paint all she wants.”

“Oh, I spoil her with art supplies constantly,” Alois chuckled. “Don’t you worry. Now then—shall we get started? I have everything ready to view.”

“Yes please.”

“All right.” He turned a monitor around to face them, pulling an open email over to show the message Edelgard had forwarded to him two days prior. “These are the most recent figures from your business partners?”

“They are,” Edelgard replied, taking Byleth’s hand when her shoulders slumped once again seeing the estimates.

“They’re about what I’d expect for a house of that size in that location,” Alois said, nodding absently. “You’re getting a good bit of help by not having to buy the land, though, that’s excellent. The land is with your family, Miss Eisner?”

“It is,” Byleth said. She looked at him a moment, eyes drawn back to the figures, and sighed as she looked directly at him and said, “They already had a parcel split out for our house, so at least that’s set up.”

“Good, good,” Alois said with a smile. He pulled over another window, arranging it next to the email, and picked up a pen to point at details. He ignored how Byleth gaped at the numbers on display. “This is where we currently stand with your portfolio. Any withdrawal will be subject to a certain tax penalty, but given that your goal is homeownership, we can exclude a bit of the money we’re taking out so it doesn’t incur the penalty.”

“How _much_ of it?” Edelgard asked.

“Admittedly not much. If you were taking a much smaller amount for just a down payment, that would be different, but this is to cover the full cost of your home. I doubt anyone could withdraw hundreds of thousands of dollars without some kind of penalty, even the CEO of our company.” He tapped the pen against his chin, thinking. “So we’re looking at approximately seven hundred and fifty thousand for the house—inclusive of all labor, materials, surveying, permits, engineering, etcetera—with about sixteen thousand on top of that for your architect’s fees.”

He hummed, thinking further. “Will you also need funds for the move itself? Movers, new furniture, that kind of thing.”

“We were—talking about that,” Byleth said, fully unable to look away from the numbers she could see in Edelgard’s portfolio. “Since we’re getting so much space and—and a better kitchen.”

Alois hummed again, bringing the pen down to tap the desk. He took a notepad from a drawer and began to work through sums, mumbling faintly as he worked. At a certain point, he switched to the computer, turning the monitor back around and clicking through several screens. After scribbling out a few more equations, he nodded and looked at them.

“My recommendation is to make a withdrawal of at least eight hundred and seventy-five thousand,” he said. “That will cover the tax penalty you’ll be charged while giving you a little extra to work with in terms of moving costs. Of course, we can go a bit higher to play on the safe side with costs—building a home brings plenty of unforeseen costs, one way or another.”

“What would you recommend for a higher amount?” Edelgard asked.

“Nine hundred to be very safe, but I doubt you’ll need more more than that. You can always reinvest what you don’t use, or leave it in your personal savings for emergency use.”

“Let’s do that,” Edelgard said. “I can send you copies of all the contracts once we sign them if we need to provide them.”

“Yes please, to help our record keeping,” Alois said. “I can still begin processing the withdrawal today to keep everything moving.”

“If you could. We’re on a bit of a tight timetable with when we need to move.”

“Of course. And I assume you want this to be handled quietly?”

“Yes. I apologize.”

“Not at all,” Alois said. “It’s your right to use this money and not be bothered. My assistants know not to discuss your matters with anyone else in the office.”

“Thank you, Mister Ragneld,” Edelgard said. “It’s very appreciated.” She smiled when Byleth gently squeezed her hand, squeezing back.

They left soon after, Alois waving to them as they stepped out of his office. Byleth’s eyes were on the floor as they walked; Edelgard all but scowled at the same red-haired woman from before when she realized she recognized her from two years prior. Silence took hold of them as they rode the elevator down to the parking garage, and Edelgard could not look at Byleth as they got into her car. She looked at the steering wheel instead, hands in her lap, and knew Byleth was not looking at her.

“You have _so much money_ ,” Byleth said quietly. “You’re—you’ll still have like— _five million dollars_ when we’re done. El— _wow_.”

Edelgard said nothing, ice rising in her bones. She closed her hands tight as her shoulders fell.

“No—that’s not—El, I’m not—I’m not mad or judging you or _anything_ ,” Byleth said, quickly taking Edelgard’s hand. “I’m just surprised. I’ve never actually known someone who has a million dollars in any account.”

“You’re really not angry?”

“Of course not. What would I even be mad about?”

“Me not paying for—everything.”

“ _What_?” She brought her hand to Edelgard’s face, making her turn to look at her. “El, _no_. It’s in an investment account—you can’t even get to it without paying a penalty. Even if you did have it all to use right now, I wouldn’t expect you to pay for everything. I don’t want to be your trophy girlfriend—I want to work and help pay for things.”

“Money doesn’t make me happy, El,” she said. “I’m happy if I get to do things I like—I don’t need to have millions of dollars to spend on expensive things. I promise I’m not mad. _Please_ don’t be worried.”

After a moment, Edelgard nodded. She turned away and started the car, driving them out of the parking garage without a word. They hit city traffic soon after, sighing in unison. Byleth smiled; Edelgard barely did. They listened to no music and kept still.

“I thought about donating all of it,” Edelgard said. “Right when I inherited it. I hated looking at it because all I could hear in my head was my relatives complaining. I just wanted to be _normal_ , to make art for a living and just be comfortable. But…I was terrified of what would happen if I _needed_ money. I didn’t want to crawl back to my family. They wouldn’t even take me in without some kind of payment.”

“So,” she said, “I kept it. For something like this. To make a home. To be able to protect and raise a family I love.”

“El,” Byleth murmured, taking her hand, “it’s okay. I promise it is. I’m not mad.” She smiled again. “I get wanting to make it all on your own. And I know it’s selfish of me, but—honestly, this is such a relief. I was trying not to cry when we got the estimates. I didn’t know how the hell we’d ever pay for the house without taking on huge mortgage payments.”

Edelgard looked at her.

“I want a home with you,” Byleth said. “I want us to be happy and safe. I think we both deserve it. And if this is the only time we ever really use your inheritance, it won’t bother me at all.” She kissed Edelgard’s palm. “I love _you_ , Edelgard, not your money. It’s never going to be about the money.”

The smile that came to Edelgard’s face was small, but honest. She put her foot on the gas when the light turned green, and when they arrived home she held Byleth close for a long, long time.

————

It started with a voicemail a month later. Edelgard had ignored a call from an unknown number, enjoying a long afternoon walk with Byleth on a sunny day. When they returned home, she put off listening to it in favor of helping with dinner and checking emails from Macuil and the construction company. Only when they’d eaten and cleaned up did she finally bother listening, putting her phone on speaker because Byleth looked on curiously.

“ _Edelgard,_ ” the voicemail started, and the man’s clipped, deep voice and scolding tone made Edelgard stop and delete the message immediately.

“You absolute _bastard_ ,” she spat, leaving her phone on the counter to go to the bedroom. She returned with a set of earbuds, connecting them to her phone. Before she put them in her ears, she looked at Byleth.

“That’s your uncle, isn’t it,” Byleth said, eyes dark and brows low.

“It is. I’m not letting him do this.” She took a deep breath. “If I start raising my voice or swearing, I apologize.”

“Go for it if you need to, El. I’m not going anywhere.”

She nodded, put the earbuds in, and dialed a number she still had memorized. The line rang three times before it connected.

“ _Edelgard,_ ” the man from the voicemail said. “ _What a pleasant surprise._ ”

“Volkhard,” Edelgard said, a sneer growing on her face. “How absolutely pathetic of you to call me from a different number so you can leave me a message. Who did you pay to get my number?”

“ _Now now, mind your manners. I am still your uncle._ ”

“You’re a leech, Volkhard. I have no obligation to show you any respect. Again, who the hell did you pay to get my new number?”

“ _Quite short tempered today. No pleasantries after, what is it, two years?_ ”

“Not for you. Not after the last time you harassed me.”

“ _Is that your **girlfriend’s** influence, perhaps?_”

She bristled, closing her hands into fists and wishing she could wield the axe she drew in her emperor’s hands. Keeping her voice steady, she said, “If you bothered remembering anything about me other than the fact that I have money, you’d remember I stopped being pleasant to you when my father passed. And thank you for confirming that you’re stalking me by showing you know I have a girlfriend. Are you slimy enough to stalk me all the time, or is it just somewhere specific?”

“ _It’s hardly stalking if an associate of mine works in the same investment firm you use. They just told me you visited the firm recently and that you had some scruffy looking gold digger with you._ ”

“What was that?” Edelgard asked as fire crept into her voice.

“ _Like father, like daughter, I suppose,_ ” Volkhard sighed. “ _Letting women get into your life when all your value is monetary. Let me guess, she—_ ”

“Volkhard,” Edelgard said sharply, “shut your fucking mouth.”

“ _ **What** —_”

“No, I said ‘shut your fucking mouth’ and you’re going to do that. We’re not playing this game anymore or ever again. I have a restraining order out against you, which I _know_ was delivered to you. My girlfriend has one against you as well, and I swear to the goddess and all ten saints that if you contact _either_ of us again I will take you to court and _eviscerate you_. I have the money for any legal process that requires, and I know you don’t. And I will be more than happy to do the same to that little redhead crony you have stationed at the investment firm.”

“ _You—_ ”

“No. We’re done, Volkhard. Permanently. You’re never getting money from me and you can’t make me feel bad for it. I’m amazed I have to say this to a man of your age, but get a life.”

For a long time, Volkhard was silent. Edelgard heard him inhale to speak three times, but he said nothing each time. She crossed her arms, drumming her fingers on her biceps, and waited with a raised brow. Eventually, she sighed.

“Right,” she said. “We’re done. Don’t contact me or my girlfriend.” She ended the call without waiting for a reply, disconnecting her earbuds and putting them on her phone. Byleth was already moving when Edelgard looked at her, wrapping her arms around her to hold her close.

Weeks went by with both of them looking at incoming calls and emails with wary eyes. Despite her best efforts not to, Edelgard frowned at anyone who looked at her or Byleth for too long. Only when Byleth squeezed her hand did she relax, and once Alois advised that the red-haired woman had been fired following an investigation into her accessing Edelgard’s records they both let out sighs of relief. Day by day the paranoia faded and nerves settled.

By April, they were relaxed again and eager for a video call from Byleth’s family. They mirrored each other enough that Byleth and Sitri laughed, both groups in their kitchens, and Sitri waved at them with a smile.

“How’s everything on the mountain?” Edelgard asked.

“ _Spring’s gettin’ along, so that’s good,_ ” Jeralt said. “ _We’re getting some flowers blooming, believe it or not._ ”

“ _The construction teams are making a ton of progress for both our places,_ ” Berith said. “ _They’re sending pictures, right?_ ”

“They are,” Byleth said. “I like the pictures you’re taking of yours, though.”

“ _I can start taking some of yours when I’m near there,_ ” he chuckled. “ _Luckily they know I’m your brother now and they won’t just chase me off._ ”

“ _Edelgard, when is your lease up again?_ ” Sitri asked.

“The end of this month,” she replied. “We’ll do month-to-month renting to let the construction team finish everything without rushing much.”

“ _So we’re down to our last few months of coming down to visit. I have a little request to make._ ”

“Let me guess,” Byleth laughed. “One more big trip to the nice crafts store here?”

“ _It’s much harder to justify going all that way without having you there for me to hug, honey._ ”

“That’s fine,” Edelgard said, smiling. “We can make a day of it.”

“ _Perfect. Next Saturday?_ ”

“We’ll even meet you there early so you can spend more time browsing,” Byleth said, and she laughed at how blissful Sitri’s smile became. She was the one driving when Saturday arrived, and she grinned at the smile on Edelgard’s face.

“I still can’t believe you didn’t know about this place until a couple of months ago,” she said, giving Edelgard a hand to hold.

“I knew _of_ it,” Edelgard protested. “I just never went because it advertises itself as a craft store and not an art supply store. I’ll be happy to make trips with Sitri once we’ve moved, though.”

“She’ll love that. She hates picking colors by herself, but Nanna hates coming all the way down here.”

“It’ll be wonderful to spend more time with her. Hopefully I can get her to tell me more stories about you growing up.”

“Oh, she will. I know she’s been dying to tell you that.”

Edelgard laughed and kissed her palm, settling for the brief drive. As Byleth pulled into the store’s parking lot, however, her smile faded for confusion after noticing one blue truck already parked in one space.

“Byleth,” she said as they unbuckled their seatbelts, “that looks like Berith’s truck.” She pointed when Byleth looked at her, and she could not keep her jaw from dropping when Berith and Sitri got out of the truck. She looked at Byleth again and found her smiling gently.

“I might’ve told them that you’ve been having a rough time,” Byleth said. “So we worked out a surprise.”

“You’re all too sweet,” Edelgard chuckled, kissing her cheek. They got out of the truck, going to Berith and Sitri for hugs. Sitri kissed Edelgard’s brow after letting her go, ruffling her hair as well.

“We need to wait for just a minute,” Berith said. “He should be here any second.”

“He,” Edelgard started, but she stopped when another car pulled into the lot. She broke down into giggles when Dimitri got out of the car, gladly opening her arms to let him pick her up in a hug.

“Hi Dima,” she said.

“Hi El,” he chuckled. “Byleth didn’t spoil the surprise, did she?”

“She didn’t,” she said as he set her down. “She’s actually very good at not spoiling surprises.”

“I’m glad.” He turned to Byleth as she came closer, giving her a hug as well. When Berith came to him, however, he picked him up off his feet for a tight, lingering hug that made Byleth and Edelgard stare in surprise.

“Right,” Berith said when Dimitri put him down, a blush rising on his face. “Um. So—Mom?”

Sitri laughed as she went to him, reaching up to ruffle his hair. Gently, she said, “You don’t have to be so nervous, sweetie. You’ve let me talk to him before.”

“Sorry,” he said with a sheepish smile. He cleared his throat and said, “Mom, this is Dimitri Blaiddyd. Dimitri, this is my mom, Sitri.”

“It’s wonderful to meet you in person, Missus Eisner,” Dimitri said, the same perfect image of politeness Edelgard remembered from their childhood. She choked on a giggle when Sitri glanced at her, pushed Dimitri’s hand away gently, and opened her arms.

“Just ‘Sitri’ is fine,” she said with a smile. “And I prefer hugs.”

Blushing pink, Dimitri leaned down to give her a hug as well. His blush darkened when Sitri kissed his cheek before they let go, and further still when he saw how Edelgard was smiling at them.

“Here’s my plan,” Sitri said, smiling. “Byleth, Berith, you two are going to help me pick out fabric for quilts for Edelgard and Dimitri. Edelgard, Dimitri, you’re going to go somewhere else in the store and _not_ spy on us.” With the same terrible innocence in her smile that Edelgard had grown used to seeing, she added, “I know you have things to talk about.”

“Sounds good to me,” Byleth said. She grinned as she pushed Edelgard and Dimitri along and into the store, Berith and Sitri quickly following as another car came into the lot. She kissed Edelgard’s cheek before she, Berith, and Sitri headed off toward the aisles of fabric bolts. Dimitri was almost fully crimson when Edelgard looked at him, and she laughed as she pulled him toward aisles full of yarn.

“I’ll try not to tease you _much_ ,” she said. “But I have to tease you _a little_.”

“I know,” he admitted. “If you help me pick yarn I won’t mind the teasing as much.”

“That’s reasonable.” She searched for only a moment before finding a few skeins of lovely dark dray. As she offered them, she said, “These should go really well with Berith’s eyes.”

His ears finally turned crimson. “I asked for that, didn’t I.”

“You did.” She smiled because he started to laugh, a hand over his mouth to stay relatively quiet. When he had calmed down, his blush somewhat lessened, she asked, “How long have you two been together?”

“We agreed to try long distance in March,” he said. “We’d been texting since we helped Byleth move in with you, but we weren’t sure about a relationship. Then he actually came to visit Arianrhod to visit me and we—we really hit it off. He’s _incredibly_ charming and I adore his sense of humor. I hadn’t laughed so hard in years—my stomach hurt terribly afterward. But then…he’s so calming at the same time. We talked for hours and just nodded off in the middle of the conversation.”

He looked toward the fabric section and smiled. Quietly, he said, “He makes it very easy to fall for him. And every time he visits it’s easier.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” Edelgard chuckled. “He and Byleth are wonderful people.”

Dimitri looked at her. He looked about. Leaning close, he whispered, “Can I ask a question to make sure things are real?”

“Of course,” she whispered back.

“Byleth’s told you the _wolf_ thing, right? I have to assume she did with how long you’ve been together—Berith told me on his last visit.”

“She has.” She put a hand on his side. “Are you okay with it?”

“I am. It took me quite a while of feeling his ears to believe what I was seeing, but it doesn’t change how I feel about him.” He straightened up and said, “I just needed one more check—we can talk more later. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Patting his side, she said, “And before it weighs on you, I would’ve told you sooner than later. I’m not interested in hiding things like that from people I love.”

“I appreciate that, El,” he said, smiling. He glanced toward the fabric section again. “Do you think you could recommend some colors for Sitri? I’d like to knit her a scarf, too.”

“I’d be glad to.” She began to go through the yarn, finding several skeins of green. “I always see her with something green when we have video calls, so this should be good.”

“I had noticed that when Berith let me talk to her before. These are lovely.” He stacked the skeins neatly in his arms before asking, “Did you have anything you wanted to get?”

“A specific brand of markers, if they have them.” She led him to other aisles, smiling at the bins of markers and the various ones on display near an open notebook. She turned to a blank page, picked up a fine tipped black marker, and began to draw. When Dimitri peeked over her shoulder, she adjusted her position to let him see more clearly. When she was done, he laughed aloud.

“You actually remember the details on my king?” he asked.

“I do. And that’s the emperor character I created from our play sessions. Alongside our wolves, of course.”

“Of course,” he said with a laugh. “I need to commission you for a full piece of this.”

“No, you don’t have to do that. I’d be glad to draw something for both of us.”

“So you’ll only _draw_ something when you could be useful and pay for things?”

They both froze. Dimitri turned around first; Edelgard saw him take half a step back from the corner of her eye. She turned around, setting her jaw, and frowned at the woman who had come up behind them. The woman was older, wearing a blue dress and a fine white coat. Her hair was graying, but most of it was still the same shade of brown as Edelgard’s. Though Edelgard had not seen her in years, the way the woman looked as if she’d swallowed something horribly bitter made her recognizable at a glance.

“Mother,” Edelgard muttered.

“You might as well call me ‘Anselma’ for how much venom is in your voice,” the woman said.

“Didn’t Volkhard warn you that I’m not very pleasant lately?” Edelgard shot back, carefully moving to stand between Anselma and Dimitri when she saw how tense Dimitri had grown.

“Oh, he did,” Anselma said. “I just thought you’d rein it in for the woman who gave birth to you.”

Edelgard made a flat noise and said, “Not when you open the conversation complaining about money. How did you find me, anyway? Is Volkhard still stalking me despite the restraining order?”

Anselma raised a brow at her. She looked over her head at Dimitri and said, “He made a post about how he was meeting his big sister today. It’s not like I don’t know where he lives.”

Disgust made Edelgard’s gut twist. She turned to look at Dimitri and saw the horror on his face as he looked at Anselma.

“You _followed_ me here?” he asked. The horror shifted, fury rising in his eyes, and his voice darkened as he said, “You told me you unfollowed me online because you had no reason to keep track of me anymore.”

“Clearly there was a reason, since you got back into _her_ life. So what is it, she’ll give _you_ money even though it’s not your right? Did you tell her a sob story?”

“I told her about myself and she accepted me for who I am,” Dimitri said. “Which is more than you and Father ever managed.”

“Dima has never once asked me for money,” Edelgard snapped, “much less tried to leech it out of me like the rest of you.”

“If you actually understood what _family_ was, we wouldn’t have to try to convince you to share what’s rightfully ours,” Anselma said. Sneering faintly, she said, “No, you’re just like your father. Utterly selfish, self-absorbed, and so covetous of your inheritance that you’re like a dragon sitting on a pile of gold. I don’t believe for a second that this ‘girlfriend’ Volkhard mentioned is interested in anything but that, and I’m sure she’ll leave you the moment she knows you’ll never share that money.”

A hundred responses came to mind, but the one that flew out of her mouth was, “I don’t hate myself nearly enough to fall in love with someone like _you_.”

Anselma bristled and opened her mouth, but froze suddenly. She turned quickly, stepping to one side, to find Sitri standing close behind her. There was no smile on Sitri’s face as she moved to stand in front of Edelgard and Dimitri, and Edelgard could hear deep, nearly sub-aural growling rumbling in Sitri’s chest. It put Anselma visibly on edge, and she looked around in confusion as Sitri turned to face her. Sitri was only a few inches taller than Edelgard and shorter than Dimitri and Anselma both, but she stood as a wall so imposing that Anselma took another half step back.

“Leave,” Sitri said, voice frigid. “They’re not yours anymore.”

“I beg your pardon?” Anselma said.

“You lose the privilege of calling yourself a mother if you choose to talk to your children like that,” Sitri replied. “So they’re not yours anymore. They’re mine.”

Edelgard froze, staring at Sitri. She managed to turn enough to see Dimitri doing the same, all his fury replaced by shock.

“ _Yours_?” Anselma said, blinking several times. “What makes you think—”

“I adore them,” Sitri said. “Rough spots and all, unlike you. They’re wonderful kids and you’re a bitter old wretch to not see it. So as their _real_ mother, I’m telling you to _leave_.”

Anselma stared at her. Because she did not move, Sitri began to growl again, crossing her arms and managing to look even larger than before. It made Anselma flinch, looking around in confusion to try to find the sound. She jumped when she found Byleth and Berith standing behind her. She shrank back from Byleth in particular, going pale at the vicious edge in her eyes.

“Leave,” Berith said quietly. “Now. I have no problems calling the store manager on you.”

Anselma said nothing for a long while. Eventually, she exhaled slowly and turned back to Sitri. She said, “Fine. You can have them. It’s not like they’ve done anything for me anyway.”

“Enough trying to make them feel bad,” Sitri said, waving her away. “Get going, you little snake.”

Anselma bristled again, but Byleth took a step toward her before she could speak. She stepped back and finally walked away, throwing a venomous look at Edelgard and Dimitri as she went. When her footsteps had faded, Sitri stopped growling, turned around, and pulled Edelgard and Dimitri close.

“Are you two all right?” she asked quietly. “We didn’t know where you were at first, we just smelled you getting upset.”

“I’m okay,” Dimitri said shakily. “I think. El, are you okay?”

She nodded, but her hands shook and her heart was in her mouth. She gladly let Sitri hug her tight, soothed by the way she rubbed her back. When Sitri let her go and put her hands on her and Dimitri’s faces, they looked at her uncertainly.

“That wasn’t something I said just to throw her off, okay?” Sitri said. “I meant it. You two are my kids now. Yes,” she said when Dimitri opened his mouth, “you too. You’d be family because of Edelgard alone, but you’re both my kids. You mean too much to me and to Byleth and Berith to not be my kids, and you always will be whatever happens from now on. Okay?”

Edelgard opened her mouth. She closed it when she could not take a breath to speak. In that moment, she felt as small as she had felt when her father had passed, alone and without a soul beside her. She took a step, and then another. She wrapped her arms around Sitri and hid her face against her shoulder. Though she tried to stop it, her breath hitched once.

“I’ve got you,” Sitri murmured, petting her hair. “Don’t worry.” With her free hand, she pulled Dimitri closer so she could hug both of them. Edelgard felt Dimitri grip her shoulder with a shaking hand, heard Sitri speak sweetly to him, and would have started crying had she not been smiling so much.

————

It was all a matter of timing. The construction crew finishing the house by the end of May was a long shot that neither Byleth nor Edelgard had relied on, and they agreed to month-to-month renting with their landlord. Several storms in May pushed the completion back further to the start of July, but still they were unfazed. Another bump in the road came in the form of a phone call from Sitri at the start of June.

“ _Seteth wants you to come up for training,_ ” she said to Byleth. “ _It’s mostly for things we can’t really have in proper documentation, and it’s a good time with most kids out of school._ ”

“I hadn’t thought about that,” Byleth said. “When does he need me to come up? And for how long?”

“ _As soon as possible, and at least two to three weeks._ ”

“Oh. That’d be a little easier if the house was done.” She thought, drumming her fingers on the back of her neck. “Is it all right if I stay with you guys while I’m up there?”

“ _That’s fine,_ ” Sitri laughed. “ _El, dear, did you want to come up as well? We’d be glad to have you both._ ”

“I’d love to, but I have to work and I need the equipment I have here,” Edelgard said with a rueful smile. “I started a new contract last week. But if the crew is able to do a walkthrough on the house, I can take a few days.”

“I’m sure they’ll text you first,” Byleth chuckled, “but I’ll call you if they tell me anything.”

She left early the next morning, promising to text when she arrived and to call that evening. Edelgard nodded, only sneaking in two extra kisses to avoid keeping her for too long. The day wasn’t difficult; she had no time to dwell with all the work before her. The text she eventually received made her smile, and she sat on their bed to relax when Byleth called her that night.

“How did the house look?” Edelgard asked at one point. “It’s still hard to imagine it despite the pictures.”

“ _I’m not going over there until we both can,_ ” Byleth said. Edelgard could all but see her smile when she said, “ _I want to hold your hand when I see it._ ”

It left Edelgard longing to kiss her. She picked up Byleth’s pillow to hold close as they talked, and she drifted off to a fitful sleep with it still in her arms. Day by day, the sting of loneliness grew sharper. Her eyes lingered on Byleth’s coffee mugs when she put away her tea mugs. Putting away a set of books Byleth had left scattered with her sudden departure took more time than necessary with how she dwelled on Byleth’s expressions as she read. When she caught herself rereading her texts for the third time in one morning, she laughed at herself wearily.

“All right, Mom would tease me if she caught me doing this,” she said, setting her phone face down. “You’ll text me when you text me.” Smiling, she got back to work and softly said, “You’ll have to live with me just holding you for about five minutes when I see you, though.”

Two full weeks went by, a third week of training being scheduled because, in Seteth’s words, Byleth “asked too many good questions.” Edelgard laughed too much to be put out by it, but she woke the next morning with Byleth’s pillow in her arms again. The summer heat did not help her mood, but she put her hair up, dressed lightly, and put herself to work to stop dwelling. Soon after she stepped away from her desk to eat lunch, her phone rang with the tune she’d set for Byleth.

“Hi,” she said on answering, smiling. “Miss me too much after talking last night?”

“ _That,_ ” Byleth laughed, “ _and have you checked your email?_ ”

“Not in the last five minutes. Did the construction crew contact you today?”

“ _They did! They’re finally ready for a walkthrough! They said they can do any day this week and Seteth will give me time for it._ ”

Alone and out of view of any windows, Edelgard allowed herself to grin like a fool and jumped in place three times. She went back to the bedroom, saying, “Can they do early tomorrow?”

“ _They—well, probably, but that more depends on when you get here, doesn’t it?_ ”

“Yes, but I plan on leaving here right after eating something for lunch. I’m getting a bag from the closet now.”

Byleth began to laugh, almost sounding giddy. Giggling, she managed to ask, “ _So we’ll see you this evening?_ ”

“You will,” Edelgard said, smiling brightly. “I love you, Byleth.”

“ _Love you too, El. I’ll see you soon._ ”

Edelgard slipped out of the city before the afternoon traffic could trap her, and she sang along to her music quietly because excitement had taken hold of her. Despite her best efforts, speed limits and traffic near the mountain kept her from arriving before sundown. The porch light was on for her when she finally parked next to Byleth’s truck in the driveway. Byleth came out of the house as she got out of her car, relief in her massive smile as they met each other halfway. Edelgard hugged her tight, giggling when Byleth picked her up.

“Hi El,” Byleth murmured.

“Hi Byleth,” Edelgard replied, closing her eyes to savor her warmth. “I missed you.”

“Missed you too,” Byleth said, nuzzling against her hair. She laughed and asked, “Ready to see our house tomorrow?”

“I am. I was thinking about it the entire drive.”

“Good,” she murmured, kissing Edelgard’s head. She adjusted her grip to carry Edelgard to her car, letting her retrieve her bag before heading inside. They did what they could to avoid staying up, Edelgard’s exhaustion from the drive helping to push them to bed relatively early. When dawn arrived, Edelgard woke first and lay staring at the ceiling, unable to stop smiling. It wasn’t long before Byleth woke, the two of them struggling not to grin as they prepared for the day.

“One of the construction crew will come here at nine,” Byleth said over breakfast. “He’ll drive us over to the house.”

“I’ve got my tablet charged to take pictures and notes,” Edelgard said. “Is he calling me, or you?”

“You.”

“He should be going over almost every little thing with you,” Jeralt said. “Siding, paint, water pressure, gutters, outlets, floors—the works. Make sure you take your time.”

“I hope it goes well,” Sitri said. “You two really need to get out of that apartment.”

“The sooner then better,” Edelgard said, and Byleth nodded to agree. At ten to nine, Edelgard’s phone rang. Even as she answered, she and Byleth moved to get ready to leave.

“ _Good morning!_ ” the man on the other end of the line said. “ _This is Kole Stesha with the Garreg Mach Construction Company! Is this Miss Edelgard Hresvelg?_ ”

“It is, and good morning to you too.”

“ _Thank you! I’m actually running a little early and I’ll be at the pickup location in a few minutes. Is that all right?_ ”

“It is. We’ll be ready to go when you arrive.”

“ _Great! See you soon!_ ”

Excitement pushed them to move quickly, sparking on their nerves as they waited outside holding each other’s hand. A large white pickup truck soon arrived, a broad-shoulder man getting out with a smile on his face and a hand in the air to wave.

“Good morning to you both this time!” he said, offering each a hand. “Miss Eisner, good to see you again.”

“Thank you, Mister Stesha,” Byleth said.

“Shall we get going?” he asked. “I’m sure you’re eager to do a walkthrough.”

“Enough to drive from Enbarr on short notice,” Edelgard said with a wry smile.

“Fair point,” Kole laughed. He gestured to his truck, climbing into the driver’s seat while Byleth and Edelgard got into the passenger’s seats. Humming softly, he drove to one side of the house and onto the recently paved road. When he noticed Edelgard’s relief as they drove along the road at the lack of bumps and spinning on loose rocks, he smiled.

“Believe you me, you and the younger Mister Eisner agreeing to have this paved made our lives a lot easier,” he said. “We appreciate it.”

“I’m glad to have it done,” Edelgard said. “If only for my car.”

“It’ll still be nice for my truck in the winter,” Byleth said. “Less of a fight to shovel this than gravel.”

“Me and my wife found that out the hard way with our little side yard this winter,” Kole said as they passed Berith’s house and the crew working on it. “We wanted to give our kids some play space, but we kept hitting rocks.” He tapped Byleth’s shoulder. “Thanks again to your mother for helping us find a repairman for the heater. Nothing worse than your kids being cold.”

“She’s always glad to help new wolf families settle,” Byleth replied. “Are your kids doing okay now that school’s out? I heard there was some trouble this last year for wolf students.”

“That would be my kids,” he sighed. “Some brat realized our oldest is adopted and was making life hell for her. We told them both to go to teachers, but they’re kids. Fighting makes more sense at that age, no matter how much we coach them.”

“I know the feeling,” Byleth said with a small smile. “Remind them they’ve got great teachers at the academy to go to, wolves and humans. We don’t want anyone getting in fights.”

“I’ll tell them. They’re still in middle school in the fall, but I’ll make sure they know they can go to the new high school teacher, too.” He nodded at an approaching curve, saying, “Okay, it’s just around this bend. We’ll start with the exterior before going inside.”

They nodded, Edelgard squeezing Byleth’s hand. When they rounded the curve and the house came into view, Edelgard simply stared as Byleth softly said, “ _Wow_.”

It was built exactly to Macuil’s design: a welcoming, large two storey house made of rich, dark wood, prominent support beams and pillars of lighter wood, and gray shingles on the roof. The windows were large on both floors, gleaming in the sun, and the garage Kole parked in front of was large enough for both of their cars. Edelgard looked up at the house when they got out of the truck, holding her breath to listen to everything.

It was blissfully quiet, little more than their footsteps or a few birds to be heard. A cool breeze came to them, rushing through the pine boughs on the nearby trees. The view of the sky was unobstructed all around the house; she wondered how it would look at dawn. When Byleth touched her back, she nodded and took her tablet from her bag.

Kole led them all around the house, showing them the driveway, the gutters, and even the roof after retrieving a ladder from his truck. He brought out a hose as well, letting them test the outdoor spigots by spraying water at the walls, roof, and foundation to check how the water drained. The garage was looked at next, with the door and outlets tested and the sealed floor examined.

Though they could’ve gone inside through the garage, Kole brought them back outside to look at the front walkway and the covered porch. The sight of the two-person swing on the porch, built as they’d asked, made Edelgard go still. She went to sit on the swing, fighting a smile as she pushed herself back and forth. Byleth was smiling when she looked up, letting Edelgard give in to her own smile.

“I’ve always wanted a porch with a swing,” Edelgard said quietly. “This is so _nice_.”

“It’ll be great in the evening after dinner,” Byleth replied, grinning. She gave Edelgard a hand, helping her stand so they could follow Kole inside and take their shoes off.

The house was bright even without the lights turned on, sunlight pouring in from the windows and bouncing off warm paint and wood accents. The living room was sprawling, sunken in slightly to be separate from the kitchen and dining area and with a gas fireplace for the winter. Bookcases were built into one wall, another left empty for anything they wanted to put up against it, and they could see exactly where to put the couches and their TV.

Everything was gone over in fine detail, from checking every window to walking carefully over the floor to examining paint and wood staining. Byleth wandered the large kitchen for a long time, glee in her eyes as she checked the cabinets, drawers, and appliances. They both let out faint sighs of relief when they tested the water pressure in the kitchen and the downstairs bathroom and found it far better than the apartment.

They went upstairs to look at the three bedrooms and two bathrooms, the two somewhat smaller bedrooms making them smile and the large master suite making their smiles turn to grins. The view of the hills from the master bedroom window made Edelgard stand still and take it in for minutes on end. They went back downstairs after checking the bathrooms, all the lights, and examining the carpeting. The heating and cooling was tested next, the temperature rising and falling appropriately as they opened every cabinet and drawer in every room.

“Okay,” Kole said, “I’ll go to my truck for a screwdriver for the loose cabinet doors you found, but I want you to see the last two rooms first. I kept your offices for last.” He brought them to one hallway on the first floor, gesturing to two doors on opposite sides of the hall. “The right side is Miss Hresvelg’s, and Miss Eisner is on the left.”

They looked at each other as Kole headed off. Edelgard smiled.

“You first,” she said. “Since you waited for me to get here before coming over at all.”

Byleth smiled, exhaled a laugh, and took her hand to hold as they went into the room. It was as large as the smaller bedrooms, but three walls were lined with built-in bookcases of dark wood. The fourth wall held the window, and a fine desk and several drawers and cabinets of the same dark wood had been built under and over it.

There was a clear view of the trees from the window, and Edelgard followed Byleth as she walked around the room. Her eyes were unfocused as they went, her thinking clear as she whispered about where to put her stuffed animals throughout the room. Every inch of the desk, drawers, and cabinets were examined, so much longing and joy in Byleth’s eyes that Edelgard could not stop smiling for her. Everything was checked before they went back into the hall, a massive smile left on Byleth’s face as she looked at Edelgard.

Taking a deep breath, Edelgard led the way into her office. It was just as large as Byleth’s, but with only one wall of bookcases made of lighter wood. Another wall had deep cabinets to hold supplies, just as requested, and the other had display cases and wall space for her own work. Her large desk was against the wall with the window, also made of lighter wood and with several shelves to hold her computer, her monitors, and her drawing tablet. Her window was larger than Byleth’s and had a plush seat built into it.

As they slowly walked around the room, footsteps silent on the hardwood floor, Edelgard looked at the space she had always wanted and finally had. She saw where to put and use her easel for painting without turning the room upside down, and began to think of what prized pieces she could finally take out of storage bins to put out to always see. She went to sit on the window seat, pulling Byleth down to sit next to her.

“I’ve always wanted a room like this,” Edelgard whispered. “A room to work in with a little spot to relax. It’ll be so nice to just sit here and have tea in the morning before I start working.” She took another deep breath, looking at Byleth. “Do you like it here?”

Byleth grinned, pulled her into her lap, and wrapped her arms around her. She said, “I _love_ it, and I can’t wait to move in.”

“Good,” Edelgard said, starting to giggle, “because that’s exactly how I feel.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The amount of research I had to do for this chapter for bits of legal stuff, house building and cost info, and just home designs is _bonkers_ , as was all the editing and additions I did while typing this chapter, but I really enjoy the outcome! Also all the found family stuff just makes me stupidly happy, I love good moms unofficially adopting kids like Edelgard and Dimitri _needed_ Sitri to.
> 
> There may be a bit of a break between chapters for two reasons. One is that I'm getting more involved in my new job, and two is that I need to figure out more details for the next narrative arc for the story. I'm not breaking this up like I did with The Nature of Fire series (catch the easter egg in this chapter!), especially since this is supposed to be a Wolf Children AU and we still don't have kids. So give me just a bit of patience and look forward to the next chapter!
> 
> As always, you can catch me [on twitter](https://twitter.com/shinjishazaki) for updates, previews, other nonsense, and ways to support me!


	6. The Art of Warm Welcomes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moving day is finally on the horizon, and with it comes many questions to be answered. Some questions are simple enough: determining the actual day to move, what to pack, and what to buy. Other questions are simple in concept, but difficult to say aloud.
> 
> Edelgard finds her courage, though, and she and Byleth go to Garreg Mach to make a home and a life together.
> 
> (Explicit content warning for the end of the chapter.)

Tempting though it was to drive back to Enbarr straight away to start packing, Edelgard spent the rest of the day in Garreg Mach after Byleth convinced her to stay. Alone in Sitri and Jeralt’s house with everyone gone to work, she pored over the pictures and videos she’d taken and reread the notes she and Byleth had written. Curled up on the couch, she drew over copies of her photos to get a sense of space for their furniture. When midday came and went, the silence in the empty house chafed enough to drive her outside.

With only her phone and a spare key in hand, she locked the front door and started out on foot. Though it was warm in the sun, it was far cooler than in Enbarr. She reached the house with only a trace of sweat on her back, and she stared at the front door with her heart in her mouth. Wishing she had the keys, she walked around the house a few times to take in its size.

“Just a couple more weeks,” she said quietly, touching the front door. She sat on the porch swing, far too aware of her heartbeat in that moment. Eventually, she smiled slightly and pushed herself on the swing. She settled there, looking out toward the hills and the forest as the swing went back and forth. It was blissfully quiet, unlike anything she’d found in Enbarr. Even the birdsong was different from what she was used to hearing in the park near the apartment, and the thought of sitting on the swing with Byleth as evening came in made her grin. Her attention was drawn away from her thoughts by the voices of two people approaching on one side of the house. As she brought the swing to a stop, she spotted Sothis and Rhea coming around the corner.

“I was wondering if we would find you here or at Sitri and Jeralt’s,” Sothis said with a laugh. “We were coming to bother you for a while before dinner.”

“Mother,” Rhea sighed. As Sothis snickered and went to sit next to Edelgard, she asked, “Everything went well?”

“It did,” Edelgard replied. “We have just a little more paperwork and arranging the move.”

“It’s a beautiful house,” Rhea said, smiling as she stepped onto the porch to join them there in the shade. “I’m relieved that you two get to move before the school term starts.”

“Is that in September?” Edelgard asked. “I keep forgetting to ask Byleth the date with how hectic things are.”

“Yes, the fifteenth,” Sothis said, pushing them into a slow swing. “You will have some time to settle.”

“We actually get to celebrate our anniversary on the eighth here, then,” Edelgard said, smiling. She sighed and murmured, “Thank goodness. I know she’ll be happier to celebrate it here.”

“You have several things to celebrate that month,” Rhea said. “Including Byleth and Berith’s birthday.”

“I need to figure out what to make them. Hopefully Dima can give me a hint for Berith.”

“Speaking of your brother,” Sothis said, “he has interrupted game time twice now with phone calls. Do you know when he will come to the mountain?”

“I don’t know if he has any plans with Berith, but I’d like for him to be here on moving day.”

“Good. His visit is rather overdue for how happy he makes Berith.”

“As is something from _you_ , child,” Rhea said.

Edelgard looked at her curiously.

“Is there a specific reason you and Byleth are not at least engaged?”

Her mind went blank. She opened her mouth slightly, but no sound left her. After a very long while, she admitted, “I wasn’t thinking about marriage.”

“You don’t mean to marry Byleth after all this?”

“No, I mean—I want to be with her from now on, I just—never think about marriage. At all. My father wasn’t married while I was growing up and we never even discussed the topic before he passed. I haven’t—” She sighed. “Please don’t tell me I’ve been making her upset.”

“Not that she has said,” Sothis replied. “But we have all been rather surprised.” She stood, picking Edelgard up to set her on her feet. “Come along. I hear in your voice that this is a topic best discussed over some sort of drink.”

Edelgard looked at them both. Seeing that any protests would fall on deaf ears, she sighed and followed their lead back to Sitri and Jeralt’s house. She got herself a glass of ice water before anything stronger could be offered, the three of them staying in the kitchen.

“Now,” Rhea said, taking a drink of her own water, “knowing Byleth, she would happily accept a proposal from you. What about marriage is stopping you from asking her for her hand?”

“Papa never married again after my mother divorced him,” Edelgard said, shrugging one shoulder slightly. “That all happened when I was just a baby, so I never knew what their marriage was like. And it didn’t seem like my mother’s marriage with Dima’s father was ever happy when we visited. Papa just… _refused_ to discuss something like marriage with me.”

“Do you fear a marriage will make you unhappy like them?” Sothis asked as she began to gather utensils, ingredients, and a bowl. She saw Edelgard staring at everything and waved a hand to dismiss it. “Sitri asked me to make something before they all came home. An answer to my question, please.”

“I don’t,” Edelgard began, but she stopped. She looked at the floor, drumming her fingers on her glass. Quietly, she said, “Maybe a bit.” She though further, taking the tiniest drink. “I worry…it’d be my fault if a marriage fell through. I never had a good example of how a marriage should work, and I don’t have a good history with people—loving people. I can’t stand the idea of hurting her like that when she’s—so important to me. She’s so much— _better_ at it than I—”

Something wet and painfully cold pressed down on the back of her neck, making her duck forward with a yelp. She turned, finding Rhea with an ice cube in her hand. When she turned to look at Sothis, she saw her nod to Rhea.

“Thank you, my dear,” Sothis said. As Rhea tossed the ice cube into the sink, Sothis looked at Edelgard and said, “Do not idolize her. Just because her circumstances are different does not mean she is somehow ‘better’ than you. This kind of thinking would lead you to resent her and _that_ would hurt a marriage.”

Edelgard, face burning, looked down. She did not look up when Rhea put a hand on her head.

“Love isn’t something to classify, child,” Rhea said gently. “What matters is that you _do_ love her, and it is clear that you love her dearly. Ultimately, a marriage is something for you and Byleth to agree upon. We only bring it up because we were surprised.”

Edelgard nodded, smiling slightly because Rhea stroked her hair. She looked up and said, “I’ll get myself figured out and talk to her soon. But would you like to see the pictures we took this morning?”

“Absolutely.” She and Sothis looked at every picture, offering ideas on where to put furniture when they saw the question marks Edelgard had drawn for herself on certain photos. They were still looking at things, Sothis working on what Edelgard assumed was frosting for a cake, when the front door opened.

“El, dear?” Sitri called. “Are you here?”

“I am,” Edelgard replied. “Rhea and Sothis are here as well.”

“Baking like you asked,” Sothis said. “All on schedule.”

“Perfect!” She came into the kitchen soon after, getting herself a glass of water. “Jeralt and Berith should be home in a little while. Byleth had to wrap up a few things with Seteth and pick up what we need for dinner.”

“I’m amazed Byleth had to talk you into staying until tomorrow,” Rhea said, giving Sitri the tablet when she looked at it curiously. “I thought you’d jump at the chance to _not_ make that drive for another day.”

“We’re going to be incredibly busy once Byleth gets back from training,” Edelgard said. “I wanted to try to get a few things started so she doesn’t have to worry about them.”

“That’s admirable, but there’s no reason to burn yourself out. You can surely take at least a day to recover.”

“Well…that’s true.” She closed her eyes as she stretched, missing the conspiratorial look Sitri, Rhea, and Sothis shared. When she opened her eyes again, it was to the sight of Sothis shooing them away.

“Go settle,” Sothis said. “I will be along once this cools and I can frost it.”

Sitri led Edelgard out of the kitchen before she could ask. They went to the living room, Edelgard sitting between Sitri and Rhea to go through the pictures again. As time went on, the excitement that had kept her going despite her exhaustion settled on her more and more. She began to nod off, eyes closing until she could not open them again. Sitri and Rhea stood carefully to let her lie down and sleep, and she remained asleep through Berith and Jeralt returning home. She was still asleep when Byleth returned, laden with groceries, and they let her rest a while longer as they set about working.

The scent of Adrestian curry tempted Edelgard out of slumber. She sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes. When she saw several boxes in wrapping paper on the coffee table before her, she paused. Hesitantly, she picked one box up and checked the tag.

“For me?” she said. She looked at the other tags, finding they were all addressed to her. After a moment, she set the last box down, stood up, and turned toward the kitchen.

Strung up on the wall was a banner reading “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” A handwritten sign saying “EARLY” had been taped up between the words, pinning her feet to the floor. She went to the kitchen with small steps and found all the others waiting for her with food, drink, and a beautiful cake. Byleth grinned and went to her to kiss her brow.

“You forgot what day it was, didn’t you,” Byleth chuckled.

“What?”

“It’s the twenty-first, El,” she said. “Your birthday’s tomorrow.”

Edelgard stared at her. She looked at the calendar hanging on the fridge, but still could not make sense of the dates outlined in red. After a very long while, she said, “Oh.”

“I told you she was distracted the entire time we spoke!” Sothis laughed. “I made the cake in front of her and not once did she question it!”

“Kid, how’d you forget your own birthday?” Jeralt asked, smiling as he came over to offer her a glass of cider. “By said you’ve kept track of all your appointments to the minute.”

“I’m not used to celebrating my birthday anymore,” Edelgard admitted. “The last time I did anything was before Papa passed away.”

“Well,” Jeralt murmured, putting a hand on her head, “now you get to start celebrating again.”

She smiled, and when he rubbed her head she said, “Thank you, Dad.” She followed his lead when he put a hand on her back and urged her forward. They all gathered food before heading to the dining table, and Byleth lifted her glass in a toast.

“Happy early birthday, El,” she said with a grin as the others raised their glasses. “Next year we’ll do this at _our_ house.”

“And we’ll celebrate your birthday there soon,” Edelgard said, raising her glass in turn. They all drank, starting in on their food immediately after. Sitri brought the cake out of the kitchen when their plates were relatively clear, Berith helping to pass slices around. They went to the living room with plates in hand, Edelgard directed back to the couch to open her presents. At one point, Berith sat beside her to start a video call with Dimitri.

“ _I’m sorry I couldn’t come up for the party,_ ” Dimitri said, smiling hopelessly. “ _I wasn’t able to trade shifts on short notice._ ”

“It’s okay,” Edelgard replied. “As long as you can come up for the move _and_ Byleth and Berith’s birthday, I don’t mind.”

“ _Those I can do,_ ” he said with a laugh. “ _Happy early birthday, El._ ”

Though they all stayed up a while, talking about the house and the move, Berith noticed when Dimitri grew groggy. They all wished him a good night, and Rhea laughed as Edelgard began to nod off at once when the call ended.

“Such a long nap and still you are weary,” she said. “You are a bit like a cat, child.”

“Sorry,” Edelgard said, smiling as she rubbed her eyes. “At least I’ll be able to sleep tonight before driving again tomorrow.”

“And you’re _sure_ you don’t want to take tomorrow off and drive back the day after?” Sitri asked.

“I am. I want to get everything moving now that the walkthrough’s done.”

“And I’ll get back to Enbarr as soon as I can,” Byleth said, rubbing her back gently. “I’m ready to get out of the city.”

“You two go to bed, then,” Sothis said. “We will be here in the morning for breakfast and to see you off.”

They nodded, standing up to go around the room for good night hugs. Both of them fell asleep within minutes of settling in bed, Edelgard relaxed in the safety of Byleth’s arms. When dawn arrived, Edelgard woke first as she always did. She stayed in bed, looking at Byleth as she slept soundly. Holding her breath, she toyed with the fabric of Byleth’s tanktop. Her mind wandered, drifting between thoughts of Byleth wearing a ring and ideas of how she could ask something so important. Nothing was clear in her head when Byleth’s alarm went off, and so she pushed it all back to think about it on the drive back to Enbarr.

————

Byleth returned to Enbarr on Saturday, taking a full minute to hold Edelgard close. Edelgard would have held her even longer, but the heat and humidity drove them apart as their skin grew sticky.

“Goddess, getting out of my truck was like getting slapped with a wet towel,” Byleth said, her expression split between a grimace and a weary smile. “Can I borrow one of your hair ties?”

“Of course.” She smiled when Byleth kissed her cheek in thanks, redoing her own ponytail while Byleth retrieved a hair tie from the bathroom. Despite her legs growing restless, she did not pace as Byleth looked at the large stack of flattened boxes by the TV.

“I took a minute to check my email when I stopped for gas on the way down,” Byleth said. “You actually got one of the county clerks to agree to come here for the closing and key delivery?”

“Mom asked him to do us a favor,” Edelgard said. “And she may have promised to make him a quilt. It’s just a little easier to do the closing here because it’s where my bank and our agent are.”

“That’s fair.” She smiled. “So that’s on Wednesday, and then Thursday or Friday for the movers?”

“Yes, but we can push the movers back if that’s not enough time. We still have to go buy some furniture and things for the kitchen.”

“I had a dream about packing last night,” Byleth said with a laugh. “I’m ready to shop and pack until my arms fall off.”

“Do you want to start with shopping, then?” Edelgard asked teasingly.

“I’d love to. Honestly, I’m a little more excited to do that when we’re getting a new bed.” She went to Edelgard to kiss her lightly. “I can take the lead on this part if you want, El. You’ve done all the figurative heavy lifting so far.”

“I’ll still _help_ ,” Edelgard said, pushing on Byleth’s stomach.

“I know. But you look pretty tired.”

“I didn’t sleep much last night,” she admitted. When Byleth looked at her in concern, she said, “Not nightmares, I promise. It’s been disgustingly humid and the A/C hasn’t been doing much to help.”

“We just keep finding more reasons to get out of here sooner.” She kissed Edelgard’s head, looked at the boxes, and checked her watch. “It’s a little after noon, so how about…we go get something light for lunch, then go out to that furniture store just outside the city? I’ll drive so you can take a nap on the way.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Edelgard said, smiling as she offered Byleth her hand. They went out together, grimacing as they stepped outside. Though they had at least half an hour of driving ahead of them after lunch, Edelgard could not settle enough to fall asleep. She sat with her eyes closed, listening to Byleth hum along to the quiet music playing from her phone, and dwelled on what had occupied her thoughts the night before. When they arrived at the store, Edelgard took a deep breath and began to gather her courage.

They spent close to two hours in the store, going back and forth between looking at dining sets, dressers, couches, and beds and headboards while a saleswoman trailed after them at a polite distance. She was more than happy to set up a delivery to Garreg Mach when they finally decided what to buy, wishing them a safe move before they left. Edelgard still had not found her courage by the time they arrived at a home goods store to buy more dishes and better pots and pans. Even when they picked up something for dinner and returned to the apartment, she did not have the words she wanted.

It was easy to start packing once they had eaten, and easier still to stop thinking about what to say when their conversation was taken up by how best to fill the boxes. When weariness finally drove them to bed, however, the words began to fill her head once more. She sat on the bed, watching Byleth stretch thoroughly, and made sure not to hold her breath.

“I can’t wait to be able to go running around as a wolf regularly again,” Byleth said, getting changed into her sleeping clothes. She sat down next to Edelgard, kissing her cheek. “I think you’ll really like walking the trails. It smells a lot better than it does on our walks here.”

“I can only imagine.” She leaned against Byleth, smiling because Byleth began to rub her back gently. “Can you believe we’re finally moving?”

“I believe it and I’m _really_ excited,” Byleth chuckled. “Getting to make a home with you in Garreg Mach is like a dream, honestly.”

Edelgard took a slow, deep breath. She started to open her mouth, but saw that Byleth was fidgeting, one leg bouncing. She looked up and found Byleth was blushing.

“El?” Byleth said hesitantly. “Could we—could we talk?”

Suspicion dawned on her. She took another breath and said, “Yes. May I go first?”

“Of—yeah, of course.”

“Thank you,” Edelgard said. She swallowed hard to shove her hesitation away, but her tongue still found a way to tie itself up. “I—this seems— _late_ , now that I’ve thought it through. But what do you think of…well…no, this isn’t how to—” She sighed at herself, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Byleth. Will you marry me?”

“Yes,” Byleth said, quick enough that Edelgard jumped. They stared at each other, Byleth’s blush growing darker as Edelgard’s cheeks burned. Tears rising in her eyes, Byleth said, “You actually proposed.”

“I—I don’t have a ring to give you,” Edelgard said, looking down as she began to speak faster. “I didn’t know how to pick one and I didn’t—I should’ve done this earlier—when you got here, even—but I just wasn’t sure _how_ and—now I feel I’ve gone about this incorrectly but—I—I want to marry you.”

“Good,” Byleth said, laughing, “because I was two seconds away from asking _you_ to marry _me_.”

Edelgard looked at her, smiling nervously, and said, “I had a feeling that’s what you wanted to talk about, so I wanted to ask first.”

Byleth laughed again, wiping her eyes. She sniffed, began to giggle, and pulled Edelgard into her arms before falling back on the bed with her.

“I don’t have a ring either,” Byleth said between giggles, “so please don’t feel bad.”

It made Edelgard burst into giggles of her own, and she hid her face against Byleth’s shoulder to muffle herself. She held tight to Byleth’s tanktop as she laughed hard enough to cry, and she did not resist when Byleth made her look up. She saw that Byleth was crying, a smile on her face, and moved to kiss her again and again.

“We should get rings before we move,” Edelgard said when they managed to stop laughing. “So we can show them off when we get to Garreg Mach.”

“I’d love that,” Byleth replied, drying Edelgard’s face. “I have an idea on what I want to give you.”

“Have you been thinking about this a lot?”

“For a little over a month, yeah.” She smiled gently and brushed Edelgard’s hair out of her face. “I was waiting to see if marriage was something you would be okay with.”

“What convinced you?”

“That look you’ve had on your face whenever we talk about how you technically own the house.”

“What look?”

“The one where you look upset that we’re not in it exactly the same. You look like you want to give me more.”

“I want to give you the world, Byleth,” Edelgard said quietly. “You mean so much to me.”

“I know. You mean the same to me.” She smiled. “So I figured you’d say yes if I proposed.”

“I’m glad I got my head around it.” She kissed Byleth again. “I really want to marry you, Byleth. I want to be your wife.”

“Me too. It’ll be great to get married up there, I promise.”

“I know it will,” Edelgard murmured, and she gladly cuddled against Byleth’s chest when Byleth pulled her close.

————

Amidst all their hurried and harried packing over the next few days, at least one of them spent hours on the phone each day. For Edelgard, it was managing the details of the closing and filing the deed in Garreg Mach. For Byleth, it was scheduling the movers and double-checking their deliveries to note when they would arrive at the house. Through all of it, they smiled at each other and grew used to wearing their rings.

Friday came, both of them waking early to have breakfast and wash and pack the last of their dishes. They checked every inch of the apartment for anything they might have missed, cleaning along the way. By the time the movers arrived, they had separated their boxes into what would go into the truck and what Byleth and Edelgard would take in their cars. With the details already passed along in Byleth’s last call, the movers began to work with efficiency so practiced they all but warped between the truck and the apartment.

Exactly on schedule, Byleth and the movers set out first. Edelgard, electronics safety stowed and hidden in her car, checked the apartment one last time. She found a small stuffed bear in the bedroom closet, smiling as she brought it to her car and set it in the passenger’s seat. The landlord did not keep her for long, taking the keys after a brief look at the apartment. Excitement steadily building in her, Edelgard got into her car, made sure the new house key was on her key ring, and headed out of Enbarr.

It was beautifully sunny from the outset, traffic light enough that she rarely had to slow down. Edelgard turned her music up, letting the sound lace her vision with starlight. She could have driven straight to Garreg Mach without stopping, used to ignoring her stomach growling as she was, but the lunch stop they had planned was something she had looked forward to for days. She pulled off the highway near Garreg Mach’s exit at noon to go to a specific diner, grinning because she saw Dimitri sitting on the tailgate of his truck with a smile on his face. He got down as she parked next to him, smiling when she got out of her car.

“ _Finally_ moving day for you,” he said, hugging her tight. “And you’re obviously excited.”

“Even Byleth was up at dawn,” Edelgard laughed. “And _you_ get to meet the rest of the family.”

“I’m equal amounts excited and terrified, trust me,” he said as they went into the diner.

“Don’t be terrified. All of them want to meet you, and I know Berith will be happy to have you visit.”

He nodded, but there was still a touch of nervousness in him as they ordered sandwiches. He began to fidget as they waited, but sighed hard and put his hands on his knees to stop his legs from bouncing.

“It’s really all right for me to stay the weekend at Sitri and Jeralt’s home?” he asked in a whisper.

“It is. They like having guests and Berith’s house isn’t finished yet. Don’t worry.” She smiled and nudged his side as the waitress brought them their sandwiches. “They wouldn’t offer if they weren’t okay with it. We all want you here this weekend.”

He finally smiled again, small though it was, and they ate quickly to get back on the road as soon as possible. Edelgard took the lead, checking her rearview mirror every so often to make sure Dimitri was following. They reached Garreg Mach’s exit in short order, Edelgard minding her speed to avoid losing Dimitri on the winding roads or at any lights. When they passed Jeralt’s shop and reached the light to turn onto the residential road, she could not stop smiling.

Just as she’d hoped, the moving truck and the delivery truck from the furniture store were both parked outside the house when they finally arrived. To her surprise, though, Berith was already there and helping with the boxes from Byleth’s truck. He grinned when they saw them, setting a box back down to meet them as they got out of their cars.

“I thought you were working until later in the afternoon,” Dimitri said, letting out a faint laugh as he picked Berith up in a hug.

“Everything was clear on Petra’s side of the mountain, so she’s covering for me,” Berith said. “She’ll come by later.” He took a deep breath and held Dimitri tight, murmuring, “Hi Dimitri.”

“Hi Berith,” Dimitri whispered back.

“Now before you try to help carry in furniture,” Berith said, laughing, “Byleth and I already tried and got yelled at, so just let them do their job and we can rearrange later.”

“Good to know,” Dimitri chuckled, setting him down. They all turned when Byleth came out of the house, and Berith broke down laughing as Byleth went straight to Edelgard to pick her up in a massive hug.

“You’ve been dying to do that for an hour,” he said, slapping her on the back.

“And you’ve been mopey about wanting Dimitri to pick you up again, so you shush,” she replied. She set Edelgard on her feet, giving her a kiss before saying, “Mom and Dad are working for a little longer, but Nanna asked me to text her when the trucks are gone so she and Grand-Nan can come by. That shouldn’t be too much longer.”

“It’s kind of scary how fast they are,” Berith said, nodding at a pair of movers as they worked on carrying in a bookcase. “But the sooner they’re gone, the sooner we can start organizing.”

“Right,” Edelgard said. “Dima, can you help with the things in my car, please?”

“I’d be glad to,” he said, and they all got to work. As they twins focused on Byleth’s truck, Dimitri followed all of Edelgard’s directions in taking her electronics to her office. He made trips to the car for boxes of supplies and sketchbooks while she roughly arranged her desk, stacking things in one corner as she asked him to. She smiled when he sat on the window seat after bringing in the last box and looked around in wonder and slight envy.

“Goddess, what a view,” he said softly, looking out the window. “And it’s not very hot at all.”

“You still aren’t good with the heat, either?”

“No, give me cool weather and snow any day.” They turned when Byleth called to them, heading out to the kitchen. The movers were with Byleth, finished and ready to leave. As Byleth and Edelgard signed off on their work, giving them their payment and a generous tip, the lead deliveryman came to wait his turn. Both teams were gone within the hour, letting them get on with putting furniture together, starting to unpack boxes for the kitchen, and sending a text to Rhea.

“Dima, just a warning,” Edelgard said, washing and putting away dishes as Byleth, Berith, and Dimitri worked together to assemble the dining table and chairs. “Grand-Nan Sothis will probably tease you a little. She said you’ve interrupted her game time with Berith.”

“Even if she does start teasing you,” Berith said when Dimitri looked at him, “I have a way to make her change topics in two seconds.”

“What’s that?”

Berith gave him a curious look. “You didn’t notice By-By’s left hand? Or Edelgard’s?”

“What?” Dimitri said, looking between Byleth and Edelgard with confusion on his face.

“Berith, I swear,” Byleth said, laughing. She showed Dimitri her hand, smiling at how his eyes widened at the sight of a gold ring set with three small rubies on her ring finger. She and Berith laughed when Dimitri stood up to go to Edelgard, and Edelgard laughed in turn as she showed him her ring and its three sapphires.

“We were trying to wait to say it until everyone got here,” Edelgard said. “But yes, we’re engaged.”

“Shouldn’t have worn your rings in front of me if you wanted to keep it a secret,” Berith said, laughing when Byleth lightly slapped his shoulder.

“El, that’s wonderful!” Dimitri said, taking her hand gently to admire her ring. “Congratulations to you both!”

“Thank you. I promise you’re invited to the wedding.”

He laughed, giving her a hug before they returned to their work. His smile remained in place even when the doorbell rang, though it once again grew nervous as Edelgard led Rhea and Sothis to them. He attempted to stand back as Byleth and Berith went to them for hugs, but Edelgard urged him forward. Sothis saw him hesitating and laughed, beckoning him closer.

“I will not bite, come here,” she said. She held him still, hands on his face, and looked at him. Because he met her gaze, she smiled and tapped his nose with both thumbs. “It is good to meet you. I am Sothis.”

“It’s a pleasure, ma’am,” he said. “I’m—um—I’m sorry to have interrupted your time with Berith.”

“As long as you are sorry, that is all right.” She turned him toward Rhea then, who looked at him even more closely. She held him still before touching his brow.

“A bit more nervous than your sister,” Rhea said with a slight smile. “But you still stand your ground very well. My name is Rhea.”

“A pleasure to meet you, too,” he said, but he had no time to offer a hand before Sothis reached over and ruffled his hair.

“Now then,” Rhea said. “Byleth, Edelgard?”

“Yes?” they said in unison.

“When were you going to tell us about the engagement? I may not have my glasses, but I’m not blind.”

Berith put his head on the table, laughing uproariously as Sothis looked at Byleth and Edelgard as their faces went red. Sothis went to Byleth, grinning at her, and laughed when Byleth held her hand up to show her ring.

“I see you talked to her _very_ soon after our chat,” Sothis said to Edelgard, grinning even more brightly. “Good girl.”

Edelgard would have protested had Rhea not come to her then. Rhea lifted her hand to look at her ring, smiling very gently at it. Just as gently, she wrapped her arms around Edelgard and held her close.

“I am glad it’s you, child,” Rhea said quietly, and she chuckled when Edelgard hugged her.

“Don’t tell Mom and Dad right when they walk in, please,” Byleth said. “I really want to tell them with El.”

“As long as you give us a tour,” Sothis said. “This house truly is lovely.”

“Of course,” said Edelgard, and she took the lead in taking Rhea and Sothis around the house. They were drawn back to the living room when the doorbell rang, Rhea and Sothis looking approvingly at everything as they went. When they arrived, they found Sitri and Jeralt looking at the kitchen and dining table respectively.

“Oh, Byleth, this is _wonderful_!” Sitri laughed. “And good girl, washing what you packed.”

“That was El’s idea,” Byleth said. “I was getting the table and chairs together with Berith and Dimitri.”

“Good job on all of it,” Jeralt said, patting Dimitri on the back. “I was worried I’d have to redo something, but these are perfect.”

“We’ll go get groceries for dinner,” Edelgard said. “We definitely need to eat.” She saw Byleth lift her left hand slightly, nodded, and took a deep breath. “Before we go, we wanted to say something.”

“So,” Byleth said, starting to blush when Sitri looked at her, “when I got back to Enbarr, El and I started talking. Mostly about the move, but…um.” She laughed. “El asked me something important. Something I said ‘yes’ to.”

Understanding dawned on Sitri instantly, Jeralt following seconds after. While Sitri hurried to Edelgard to take her hand and look at her ring, Jeralt went to Byleth to wrap his arms around her.

“El, you lovely girl,” Sitri said, hugging her tight. “You’re so, _so_ welcome to the family, dear.”

“You’re gonna look great in a wedding dress, By,” Jeralt said, voice rough as tears welled in his eyes. “I can’t wait to walk you down the aisle.”

“Thank you, Dad,” Byleth said quietly, hugging him back.

“Have you thought of any details?” Sitri asked.

“No,” Edelgard admitted. “We were still fairly preoccupied with the move.”

“Well, once you’re all settled in, we’ll be glad to help.” She kissed Edelgard’s brow. “You two will make beautiful brides.”

Edelgard smiled, feeling her face flush, and hugged Sitri. They both burst out laughing when Jeralt came over to pick them up in a hug of his own. He kissed Edelgard’s head before setting them down, and he stroked her hair.

“I’ll walk you down the aisle, too, if you want,” he murmured.

“Thank you,” she whispered, and she let out a tiny sigh of relief when he kissed her head again. She looked at Byleth, so focused on her smile that she did not hear the doorbell go off once more.

“I think that one’s for me,” Berith said, a grin on his face as he stood. “One sec.” He left the room, soon returning with a young woman. Her purple hair was artfully braided, her dark skin and strong muscles on display under a tanktop and shorts. Her eyes lit up when she saw Byleth, and Byleth laughed as they met each other halfway. She laughed even harder when the woman, despite being Edelgard’s height, lifted her clear off her feet.

“Goddess, Petra, put me down before you scare El,” Byleth said, seeing the shock on Edelgard’s face.

“I haven’t seen you in so long, though!” Petra said, putting her on her feet. “And now I can visit you in your new home! A hug is warranted, I think!”

“I’m not saying it’s not, just that El’s not used to me getting picked up like that.” She held out a hand to Edelgard, waiting for her to come over before saying, “El, this is Petra Macneary. She works mountain guard with Berith.”

“Oh—the Brigid fox you told me about,” Edelgard said. Smiling, she offered Petra a hand. “I’m glad to meet you. My name is Edelgard Hresvelg.”

“Berith has told me quite a lot about you,” Petra said, taking her hand. “Welcome to Garreg Mach as a new neighbor!” She lifted Edelgard’s hand to point at her ring. “And congratulations for this.”

“Thank you,” she laughed.

“Petra,” Berith said, “I know you said you wouldn’t stay long, but I want you to meet someone, too. Dimitri?”

Edelgard smiled as Dimitri stood up, and she went back to the kitchen with Byleth to go over the extensive list of groceries and sundries they had started. By the time they were set to go, Dimitri had found his stride talking to Petra about trail running and exercise, Berith looking on with a smile.

“We’ll be back in a while,” Byleth said, picking up her keys. “We’ll bring back something good for dinner.”

“I’ll see you at the store soon, then,” Petra said. “I need something for dinner as well.”

Byleth nodded, and Edelgard took her hand as they went to her truck. They went into town and the large supermarket, but they stayed in the truck for a moment to stretch. Byleth groaned, laughing wearily as she redid her ponytail.

“I’m going to sleep like a brick tonight,” she said.

“I think I’ll do the same for once,” Edelgard laughed. She took Byleth’s hand once they were out of the truck, only letting go when Byleth got a cart for them. Most every aisle was gone through, the cart steadily filling up as they went. Though staple ingredients were tossed in with no need for a discussion, they deliberated over what to do for dinner for so many. Eventually, they came to an agreement about pasta and started back across the store.

“Byleth?” a woman called to them.

Byleth stopped short, turning toward one aisle as Edelgard did the same. A woman with luscious, wavy brown hair and a flowing red sundress came out of the aisle. A half full handbasket in one hand, she looked at Byleth with a smile before turning to Edelgard. Her smile grew even brighter; she gasped faintly with her hand over her mouth.

“Byleth, was today your moving day?” she asked. “Is this lovely lady _her_?”

“Yep to both,” Byleth said, putting an arm around Edelgard’s shoulders as Edelgard blushed. “El, this is Dorothea Arnault. She’s a teacher at the academy starting this year. Dorothea, this is my fiancee, Edelgard Hresvelg.”

“I was hoping to meet you before the term started!” Dorothea said, setting her basket down to offer Edelgard a hand. As they shook, she said, “You have no idea how much Byleth helped me during training. I was so lost after moving here, but she was an absolute saint.”

“I’d love to hear more about that,” Edelgard chuckled. “We should get together soon to talk more.”

“As long as you let me visit _your_ place,” Dorothea said. “It’ll be nicer than a visit to my apartment.”

“We can do that,” Byleth said. “I’ll text you about it—we just need to get back sooner than later.”

“I need to get home for dinner myself,” Dorothea said, picking her basket back up. “It was great to finally meet you, Miss Edie.”

Edelgard nodded, intent on speaking. She stopped at the sound of quickly approaching footsteps. They all turned to see Petra coming closer, and Edelgard saw Dorothea’s eyes widen at the sight of her.

“I was hoping to catch you before you left,” Petra said. To Edelgard, she said, “I hope your brother comes to visit often now that you’re here. He would be fun to run with and Berith looked very happy.”

“I have a feeling he will,” Edelgard said with a smile. “Thank you for making him feel welcome.”

“Of course!” She turned to look at Dorothea then, brows rising as she looked her up and down. She looked at Edelgard, glanced back at Dorothea, and to Edelgard said, “Is this another visitor who came for you?”

“No, this is actually a coworker of mine,” Byleth said.

Dorothea offered her free hand, managing to add charm to her small, shy smile. “I’m Dorothea Arnault, miss.”

“Petra Macneary,” Petra replied, taking her hand and shaking. She grinned outright when she said, “I didn’t expect to meet someone so pretty today! The flame spirit must be happy with me.”

Dorothea blushed, clearing her throat as she looked away. She said, “Thank you for the compliment, Miss Macneary.”

“Just ‘Petra,’” she said, still grinning. “If I can call you ‘Dorothea’?”

“Of course, please do!”

Byleth and Edelgard shared a look, resisting the urge to smile. Edelgard said, “You’ll have to forgive us for leaving, but I’m sure our family is starting to get hungry.”

“Oh—yes, of course,” Dorothea said, blush darkening. “Edie, Petra, it really was a pleasure to meet you.”

“You as well!” Petra said, and she waved as they all went in different directions. Byleth and Edelgard managed to get through the last of their shopping, checkout, and loading their bags into the truck before starting to laugh. They sat in the truck for a while, giggling harder every time they looked at each other. Eventually they calmed down, buckling their seatbelts before starting back home.

“Did you know?” Edelgard asked.

“About Dorothea, yeah,” Byleth said. “She flirted a tiny bit over our first lunch, but she stopped the second I mentioned you. She was actually more relieved to have someone to be _out_ to. But no, not a clue about Petra. She’s five years younger than me and Berith and we weren’t super close during school. I actually thought she had a crush on _him_ for a little while, but— _wow_ , I think Dorothea’s going to have her hands full.”

“She might,” Edelgard chuckled, “but she might enjoy it.”

Byleth laughed, giving Edelgard a hand to hold on the drive. She parked in the garage when they arrived, leaning back against her seat after turning off the engine.

“I hadn’t thought about it,” she said, “but it’ll be _a lot_ nicer getting groceries out of the car when we don’t have to worry about the weather.”

Edelgard smiled and made her turn her head. She kissed Byleth sweetly, touching her lips with her thumb when she leaned back. Byleth kissed her thumb, smiling before they got to work carrying everything inside. Jeralt and Sothis came to help, letting Byleth and Edelgard focus on starting dinner and organizing the kitchen. Sitri helped Byleth with cooking, Edelgard taking a moment to watch them. There was a kind of joy on their faces that she had not seen before, and she carefully retrieved her phone to take a few pictures without being noticed.

While they had been gone, Berith had gotten started setting up their electronics in the living room. He let Edelgard take over on setting up the internet, tidying the tangle of cables as she worked. While Sothis watched them with a great deal of curiosity, Rhea and Dimitri soon went to help Jeralt set the table. Dinner was served just as a knot of hunger began to twist in Edelgard’s stomach. She gladly went to the table, mouth watering at the stuffed pasta with cream sauce and the garlic bread stacked high on a plate. Though she would have gotten started, the way the others looked at Rhea made her pause.

“I would like to say a small prayer,” Rhea said. “A housewarming, if I may.”

Edelgard, all prayers long since forgotten, nodded after a moment. She followed Rhea’s lead in putting her hands together and kept her eyes open.

“Blessed mother, goddess above and all around,” Rhea said, “look kindly and gently upon this house of two people who have become family. They deserve your grace and guidance with how dearly they love each other. May you see their worth and bless them and their future as they continue to find their way together. Look upon us with love.”

“Look upon us with love,” the rest of them said, Edelgard and Dimitri’s voices quiet.

Byleth led the way in starting to eat, pleasure on her face with each bite. Edelgard followed, finding the flavor more remarkable than anything they had made in the apartment as she ate. As she had come to love, the conversations they began to have gave her dozens of colors to sink into, a blanket of comfort settling on her. She reached out to touch Byleth’s leg under the table and smiled when Byleth lay a hand over hers.

Evening came at last, the temperature slowly falling as the sun set. They all had gathered on the couches after the dishes were clean, Edelgard curling up beside Byleth. Sothis noticed Berith and Dimitri starting to nod off, cajoling the others into leaving. They gave Byleth and Edelgard hugs before going, Sitri kissing their heads again and again. Dimitri was last, saving his final hug for Edelgard.

“Let me know if you’d like to do anything with me and Berith tomorrow,” he said.

“I will, I promise.” She and Byleth saw them all to the door and locked it behind them, savoring the silence that came to them. They went upstairs after double checking doors and windows, turning lights off as they went. At the top of the stairs, Edelgard stopped them and pulled Byleth down for a kiss.

“We’re home,” Edelgard said with a little laugh. “I’ve been dreaming about this for weeks and it’s exactly what I wanted.”

“I know what you mean,” Byleth said, “But I am glad they left a little early so we could relax by ourselves.”

“I promise I’ll never tell them that,” Edelgard giggled, and she kissed Byleth again.

The kiss had more heat in it than either of them expected, enough to push their weariness away. They looked at each other a moment before Byleth urged Edelgard back against the nearest wall. She put her arms down beside Edelgard’s head, kissing her slowly, deeply. Edelgard gladly opened her mouth, inhaling shakily as Byleth slipped her tongue inside. Her world was hazy as she reached down between Byleth’s legs to stroke her cock through her shorts.

“El,” Byleth said, a whisper carried in a faint breath. She rocked into Edelgard’s hand, kissing her again and bringing a hand to the back of her head to hold her close. She sucked on Edelgard’s lower lip and murmured, “Goddess, you get me _so_ hard.”

“I can tell,” Edelgard purred. “I love feeling it.” She squeezed Byleth’s cock gently, savoring how Byleth groaned. She kissed Byleth again and again, touching her lips to her cheeks. When Byleth moved closer, lifting her carefully to bring her cock between her legs, Edelgard moaned. She looked up when Byleth set her back down with a faint, frustrated sigh.

“I know I said I’d pack until my arms were dead and I’m glad I did,” Byleth grumbled, “but I’d like to break in the bed a little, too.”

Edelgard thought. She looked toward their bedroom. She pulled Byleth closer, holding her hips, and said, “I have an idea.”

“Hmm?”

“Follow me.” She took Byleth by the hand and led her to the bedroom. Byleth, a bit lost, did not resist when Edelgard undressed her.

“El?”

“Go sit on the bed. Your back against the headboard, okay?”

Byleth obeyed with only the faintest hesitation. She moved the pillows and sat against the headboard. Her cock twitched when Edelgard undressed and got onto the bed on her knees. Her eyes widened as Edelgard moved closer still, rising up over her lap.

“El—wait a sec,” Byleth said. “We—didn’t get condoms at the store, do you—”

Edelgard kissed her to cut her off, one hand on her cock to stroke it. Byleth, shivering, settled back against the headboard.

“I want it like this tonight,” Edelgard said, running her fingers over the tip. “Tonight’s…special. I want all of you. It’s okay.”

Byleth exhaled shakily. She leaned forward to kiss Edelgard and reach between her legs. Her fingers found wetness at once, sliding back and forth and ghosting over Edelgard’s clit. It made Edelgard jump, rising up as Byleth put pressure on her clit and rubbed. She bit her lip to muffle her moan, putting her hands on the headboard for balance.

“Let me hear,” Byleth said. She circled Edelgard’s clit, smearing wetness on her finger before ever so slowly pushing it into Edelgard. “You wanted to hear _me_ , right?”

“Yes,” Edelgard moaned. She gasped when Byleth began to rock her finger in and out, deep and fast pushes. She put a hand on Byleth’s shoulder to steady herself further.

“You’re so, so tight,” Byleth said, voice clear and finally louder than a whisper. “So wet.” She put her free hand on Edelgard’s hip to pull her closer and rumbled, “I want to come in you _so badly_.”

“I know,” Edelgard said quietly. She whimpered when Byleth pushed another finger into her, and then cried out when Byleth added a third. She rocked against her hand as best she could, grateful for the hand on her hip.

“I need to stretch you a little,” Byleth said, stroking her hip, her thigh, her stomach. “I don’t want to come in you _immediately_.”

“That wouldn’t be fair,” Edelgard said in a breathy laugh. She let Byleth touch her a while longer, doing what she could to keep her breath steady. She touched Byleth’s wrist to make her stop and draw her fingers out. She trembled when Byleth painted her stomach with her wetness, but moved forward on her knees.

Byleth kept a hand on her hip and took the end of her cock in hand. She ran it up and down Edelgard’s folds, the wet sounds of their skin together making both of them groan. Pulling on Edelgard’s hip, Byleth held her cock steady as Edelgard moved closer and slowly began to sink down onto her. Edelgard whined when the head of Byleth’s cock pushed into her, biting her lip as she bent her knees and slowly took Byleth completely.

“ _Byleth_ ,” she moaned when they were flush together. Uncertain of how to set a rhythm, she rose up and down to ride Byleth. At first she was unsteady, her motions anything but smooth. When Byleth put both hands on her hips and helped her move more easily, she began to moan aloud.

“Goddess, you should see your face,” Byleth said. “You look so happy.” She lifted her hips as Edelgard sank down again, both of them moaning. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so blissed out, El.”

“We’re finally home,” Edelgard whispered. She moaned, back arching, when Byleth pulled her down and ground against her. “I’ve wanted—just you, all to myself. Just like this.”

“Now we get to live out all those fantasies you’ve drawn,” Byleth said with a grin. “Can’t wait to fuck you against a wall.” She leaned forward to bite Edelgard’s shoulder. “Or maybe over one of our desks?”

“Or finally on the couches,” Edelgard said, holding Byleth’s head to her shoulder. She whimpered when Byleth bit down again, harder than before.

“Can’t believe we never did that in Enbarr,” Byleth chuckled.

“I went—down on you a few—a few times.”

“And watching you was a _treat_ , El.” She hummed a laugh, urging Edelgard to ride her faster. “I feel spoiled when I see you with my cock in your mouth.”

“Byleth,” Edelgard panted, “Byleth, I’m—”

“I know,” Byleth grunted. She swore when Edelgard clenched around her, gripping her hips tight. “Just like that, El, just—fuck— _yes_ , a little—”

Edelgard came undone first, letting her head fall back as she moaned loud and desperate until her voice broke. Byleth followed her into ecstasy seconds later, a strangled shout coming from her mouth as she came inside Edelgard. Her hips bucked, balls tightening as she rode out her orgasm and savored Edelgard around her. Edelgard, breathing a wreck, settled with Byleth buried in her completely and put her head on Byleth’s shoulder.

“We’re a mess,” Byleth chucked, hands still on Edelgard’s hips.

“We are,” Edelgard murmured. “We can take a shower.” She did not move to get up, however, breathing slowly and deeply. She nuzzled against Byleth’s shoulder and said, “I love you so much.”

“Love you too, El. I really do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a special kind of irony in writing about moving while actively house hunting. Ha ha, my (positive) stress levels right now.
> 
> I may take a mini break from this story to work something different, since I'm feeling a little burned out (as I always get if I work one thing for long periods). Maybe a oneshot, maybe going back to a different story, we'll see. I just need to clear my head a bit because _ha ha_ I am not kidding about my IRL stress levels.
> 
> As always, you can catch me [on twitter](https://twitter.com/shinjishazaki) for updates, thoughts, ways to support me, and whatnot!

**Author's Note:**

> This story is something I’ve been thinking about literally since March 2020 because of [this post](https://twitter.com/HazuraSinner/status/1243240402766962693?s=20) from HazuraSinner on twitter. It’s such a sweet and fluffy idea, and it will be even more so because while I enjoy the original movie, parts of it make me seethe and I will be changing them.
> 
> Non spoiler, I’m not trolling, nobody dies. I’ve been dealing with a nervous breakdown and I need straight fluff and good stuff. Also lots of smut again.
> 
> Catch me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/shinjishazaki) for updates, previews, and ways to support me!


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